Hinata the Vamp
by xXxItaHinaSasuXxX
Summary: Hinata is thrown into the world of being a vampire over the summer. She faces all the hardships of being a teenager and a vampire. How can she survive being what she is? Can she find her long lost clan with the help of Sasuke? A good read
1. The clue

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**CHAPTER 1

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**The Clue**

Hinata was a vampire thanks to her deceased mother who passed on the trait to her since she was the first born. Her father disliked Hinata because she looked like the woman he loved and worse, she now had the same vampire blood in her. 

Vampires were only supposed to give birth once for the sake of an heir or heiress but Hiashi wanted a boy to carry his name, so Hinata's mother tried to give him a son instead, dying during birth. As irony would have it, Hiashi never got the son he wanted, instead, he was the father of another girl, Hanabi.

Only the Hyuga family knew of Hinata's secret and were sworn by Hiashi to never speak of it outside of the Hyuga compound. 

For years Hinata's thirst had been dormant, but on her sixteenth birthday, which was during the summer, awakened. She had not bitten anyone yet because her thirst was faint and so she bit her tongue to satisfy herself.

* * *

Hinata woke with a start, drenched in sweat. Even after her birthday, she had not gotten used to waking up at the crack of dawn. A lot of changes had taken place since the day she thought was supposed to be the best day of her sweet year. Hinata could no longer sleep after dawn no matter what time she went to sleep at night, she could no longer eat food because it tasted like sand so she was left to only drink liquids.

Speaking of liquids, Hinata reached to her left to get the glass of water on the small table next to her bed. Then she threw the covers off herself and trudged to the bathroom to take her early shower. She watched her self in the mirror over the sink as she undressed, seeing how much her body had changed since she turned sixteen.

She had changed so much she could hardly recognize the person in the reflection. Staring at her naked body she saw curves in places she never though possible. Her face looked the same however, just a bit more mature. Hinata confirmed to herself , '_I am truly a different person now.' _She did not even stutter anymore, although she was still shy.

_--------_

After taking a shower, Hinata came out of the bathroom, toweled off and got dressed for her first day of school. To tell the truth, she was quite sure no one would recognize her anymore, seeing she barely could herself. Hinata sighed. She really missed all her friends and had not seen them since school was out because she was traveling with her father, her close cousin Neji, and Hanabi.

Neji was her deceased uncle's son and Hiashi had taken the boy as his own, seeing he always wanted a son anyways.

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Hinata went downstairs to get some juice. On her way there she accidentally bumped into Neji, who was on his way to the kitchen as well.

"I guess I got used to your morning schedule over the summer," said Neji, giving Hinata a small smile.

"Sorry about that again, Neji," said Hinata, looking down at her feet. "I must have been a pest waking up so early in the morning with all those mood swings at first,"

Neji grabbed Hinata's arm and pushed her into the kitchen. "Nah, I know you have your reasons. Just don't try to bite me as an experiment anymore. I barely got you off last time."

Shortly after, Hanabi joined them and soon enough- well as soon as three hours can pass- they were heading through the door to go to Konoha High.

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Neji went to park the Porsche while Hinata and Hanabi walked through the entrance, walking slowly so he could catch up. The school had not changed at all, except for the fact that various trees were now taller and the corridors were now a very pale green.

Hinata was just happy to be back to see her friends again.

While walking through the hallways, she noticed how everyone was stopping in their tracks just to watch the trio walk by. It was true that they were Hyugas which meant they were of the best looking among the school, but Neji usually got all the attention so she hoped no one noticed her. Hanabi had long since gone now with her own friends, so it was just Neji and herself.

"Are you sure you're okay enough to come to school?" asked Neji as they walked closer to their classroom. "You haven't had any swings since last half moon right?"

"No, I'm alright until the next few weeks unless something triggers the thirst," replied Hinata.

With that, they walked through the door to their classroom and saw their friends talking and laughing as usual. Ino was the first person to see them.

"Hey! Hina-Chan what's -" Ino stopped in her tracks to hug Hinata as soon as she saw her clearly now she was up close. Ino eyed Hinata up and down, then looked back at the others, namely Sakura, Lee, Tenten , Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, Naruto, Sasuke, Shino, and the Sabaku siblings. They had now seen Hinata and saw why Ino had stopped short. Suddenly, everyone was crowding Hinata and bombarding her with questions all at once. ' _Oh great, they noticed how I've changed.'_

"Hinata what's happened to you?"

"Well um-"

"Whoa, Hinata you look hot!"

"Well um-"

"Hn"

"Hinata-"

"Hinata-"

"Hinata-"

" My Kami, give the girl space-"

At this everyone stopped talking to look at Neji. Tenten was the one to ask.

"Neji you were with Hinata all this time, she looks so different," she said.

Neji looked at Hinata, who looked down at her feet and sighed. "It's just…nature that took over this summer that's all. She doesn't look that different to me."

"It's only obvious, you were with her the whole time so you won't notice," said Sakura, who had a hint of jealousy in her voice because Hinata was getting all the attention. The others agreed. This time Hinata spoke for herself, feeling annoyed that everyone could see through the change .

"Look, it's nothing. I just went through some slight changes that's all," she said to be cut off by Temari.

"Slight? You're not even stuttering anymore," said Temari. "You have bigger Chas than I do now."

With that Hinata looked down at her chest, then looked at Temari's. Indeed they were bigger. Then she glanced at the others, finally at Naruto and Kiba who were sniffing loudly. ' _At least they look at me now.'_ she thought, then shook her head slightly, not wanting them to look at her just because her Chas had developed.

Finally the bell rang and everyone took their seats from last time they were there since classes remained put until the students graduated. Hinata was seated to Kiba on her left, some random new boy on her right, Ino in front and Sasuke behind her. The others were scattered over the classroom.

Hinata leaned a little to the right so she could see Naruto and Chouji talking loudly. She was mainly looking at Naruto though. Chouji was with Ino. Hinata sighed. ' _I bet he won't think I look so hot if he found out what I am.'_

The day passed as smoothly as possible, what with Chouji trying to eat chips in class, Shikamaru sleeping, Sakura winking at the new boy every chance she got, among other things. Lunch time went quickly as well since everyone was having fun throwing food around which started with Naruto tripping on his way to his seat and spilling ramen all over Kiba who threw a cupcake at Naruto but it missed and smacked Sakura in the face. From there the food fight started leaving a few smart students clean, who exited the canteen. It was then Hinata met Sai, the new student who sat next to her in class.

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The class was in a riot of laughter as Kakashi-sensai read from his Icha Icha novel for the literature class. Somehow, Kakashi-sensai thought the book was compulsory for future life instead of dwelling on the old scrolls of Konoha. It was the last period of school now and Hinata could not wait to go home. Everyone was staring her down from the first minute she stepped her foot in the place. Not only that, her thirst was itching more than usual. She figured the reason was because of all the people around.

Finally the bell rang, announcing the end of school. Hinata packed her bag and walked towards the door, where Ino and some of the others were waiting so they could go to their lockers to pack in extra books. Their lockers were right next to the supplies closets and the water cooler.

No one used that water cooler though because it spouted the drinker with ice cold water every time. Of course, Naruto was drenched a few times before the school got the hint.

There was mad rush for the leave of school for the day so everyone was in a rush. Hinata was no exception, because her thirst was itching a lot from the time she got into class that morning. ' _Maybe someone is triggering it.'_

Sasuke's locker was right next to Hinata's. Somehow, her thirst was itching like crazy when he stood up beside her but she just bit her tongue and ignored it. Later, everyone parted ways and Hinata, Hanabi and Neji were on their way home in Neji's Porsche which was a beautiful silver car.

------

When Hinata got home, she went straight to her room and turned on her PC.

She absolutely adored the thing and treated it as though it was her best friend. She signed in to msn as one of her many sign-in names which was candyapple7. Some of her friends were online so she chatted with a few.

**Beep**

**poolsofblue69: hey grl, sup? (Ino)**

**candyapple7 : gd. Ain't got hw so that's a + 4 me.**

**poolsofblue69: I hear ya. OOoOoh.. guess who just signed on.**

**candyapple7 : naruto-kun? **

**poolsogblue69: nope, Sasuke-kun, but he's on 'do not disturb' **

**candyapple7 : oh. well I'm goin to wait until naruto-kun signs on.**

**poolsofblue69 : maybe you should just give up on him, Hina. He's butt foolish behind sakura. Y don't u go for the new boy? I saw him lookin u 2day. Just get him before fore-head girl tries to bang him. Lol**

**candyapple7 : he's cute but…doesn't he ever smile? Even Sasuke twitches sometimes. **

**poolsofblue69 : yea well…oh no! I just remembered my mom wants me to watch the flower shop this evening, so I g2g. Take up some courage and tell naruto who u r. u can't hide behind a sign-in name 4eva. Bye!**

**poolsofblue69 : SIGNED OUT **

And so Hinata waited, and waited, and waited some more until she heard the familiar **beep** of someone signing in and sure enough it was Naruto as orangepink96. Of course Hinata knew what the name meant. Naruto and Sakura. She sighed but said hello anyways.

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**Beep**

**candyapple7 : hi**

Sasuke looked at the Pc screen as soon as he was alerted. He had decided to stay at Naruto's until the maids cleaned his house. He had been away over the vacation and had given the maids and other staff time off as well. He didn't want to see them digging through his belongings so he just stayed at his 'friend's' house for the night.

" Naruto, you have a message from apparently some girl," said Sasuke, looking around. He heard the shower running so assumed Naruto was busy. Sasuke just decided to answer until Naruto came out. He twitched when he saw Naruto's sign-in name.

**orangepink96 : hey**

**candyapple7 : um…so how r u? **

**orangepink96 : I'm gd. Just eating some ramen, yum yum. **' _I can't believe I just said that.'_

**candyapple7 : lol, well I hope u're enjoying it. **

**orangepink96 : yea. Well um, **' _What would the dobe say?' _**wat's ur name?**

**candyapple7 : I can't tell you that yet….I'm a bit shy.**

**orangepink96 : common I'm not close enough to bite u. **' _What the hell did I just say?'_

**candyapple7 : um…how about I give you clues? One each day.**

**orangepink96 : sure. **' _I have nothing better to do at the moment. Plus she seems to like Naruto, so she can't be a slutty fan girl.'_

**candyapple7 : kk. The 1st clue is…um… ' two down, one left.'**

**orangepink96 : ok. **' _WTF! Even I don't know what the frig that means. Damn she's good.'_

At that moment, Naruto came through the bathroom door with a towel around his waist. Sasuke threw a book at him.

"Put on clothes, dobe. No one wants to see your scrawny ass," said Sasuke, looking back at the screen.

" Who are you talking to? On MY account?" asked Naruto, coming to look at the screen. " Hey that's some random chick who has been talking to me before the summer."

Sasuke just shoved Naruto and wrote down the clue. ' _Better find out who this "random chick" is. She seems too smart for the idiot.'_ Then he typed in his last message.

**candyapple7 : u there?**

**orangepink96 : yea. I g2g, k? **

**candyapple7 : k bye**

**candyapple7 : SIGNED OUT**

Sasuke was surprised to say the least. It seemed the girl only wanted to talk to Naruto and stayed for the small conversation. ' _I wonder who she is?'_

Naruto said he wanted to play PC games so Sasuke let him, after a quarrel of course. Sasuke thought it was a waste of time playing games on a computer unless they were worth while. The thing is, Naruto only played food games, like Diner Dash and Cake Mania.

After Sasuke had his shower as well, he changed Naruto's sheets on which he would be sleeping on.

" You know, dobe," said Sasuke calmly as he was putting a pillow case on one of the pillows. " Would it hurt to change your musty sheets once a week?"

Naruto looked at him annoyed. " I don't have maids like you do, so I prefer to change them once every two weeks, live with it."

Sasuke smirked. Maybe someday he'd ask Naruto to come live at his mansion to save arguments like this. Having a big mansion with no one to share it with was not as exciting as some may think. Maybe he would be a good friend someday…maybe not. Who knows?

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The night passed with Naruto shouting at the PC and Sasuke staring at a certain piece of paper with a clue he had been given not too long ago by a mysterious girl. He could not figure out if it was literally suggestive or figuratively. ' _Does it mean she's already given two clues and there's only one more to go? Is it a combination of some sort? WTF this girl is damn good at this.'_

But as we all know, Sasuke Uchiha doesn't give up….

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_**There you have it, my second fic in progress. I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The same rule goes for this fic. Give me 20 reviews and I'll give you another chapter. Tell your friends, spread the word, my no one's ever written a Hina-vamp fic, I am the first ( heh heh - I think ). Also I would like to thank all those who have made reviews to my other new story in progress- Princess. I have fourteen or fiffteen reviews for that one, only five or six reviews and you'll have the 2nd chappy for that as well. Ja ne.**_


	2. Clue 2

**CHAPTER 2**

**Clue # 2**

_**Last time on 'Hinata the Vamp'…..Hinata sent a clue to who she thought was Naruto. Little does she know the blond never got the message, because she was talking to Sasuke all along. A boy she barely talks to. Meanwhile the Uchiha finally met his match in the world of riddles**__……….._Here is the clue : "**Two down, one left"**

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" Two down, one left?" asked Neji. It was now Friday and he and Sasuke were talking before Kakashi-sensai came in, which would be twenty minutes after the bell rang to start. Sasuke and Neji were on friendly terms since they sat side by side in class and knew the value of silence.

" Yeah, I have no idea what it means. This girl is such a pain in the neck," said Sasuke. " I was thinking she's telling me her locker combination or something."

Neji's eyebrow rose. " No, what girl would be foolish enough to do that? It's something more, something so easy we're looking over-"

" What if we ask Shikamaru? He lazy so he'll find the easiest way out," suggested Sasuke, looking past Neji to see if Shikamaru was sleeping yet. Surely he was sleeping. " Wake him up."

Neji reached across and poked Shikamaru, who snorted and turned the other way. " Hey Shikamaru," coaxed Neji. "I've got a really tough clue for you that even Sasuke and myself can't figure out."

Shikamaru yawned openly and looked at Neji with a bored expression. " Who am I supposed to be? It's always ' Shika-kun can you help me?, Shikamaru, what is the answer to E?, blah blah. ' Make it snappy," said Shikamaru. " I want to nap some more before I can sleep in class."

Sasuke was hearing all of this and fought the urge to roll his eyes. Then he pulled his chair closer. Gaara, who had heard the commotion over a few choice words called a clue, joined in to hear the end of it.

" Ok," said Sasuke. " A girl told me this clue because she didn't want me to find out who she was directly, since she is shy. The clue is ' Two down, one left.' He looked at Shikamaru, waiting for an answer.

" Maybe it's a combination to her locker, although I can't see who'd be that gullible to do such a thing," said Shikamaru.

' _That's the same thing I came up with. And people call him a genius, more like geni-ass.'_

" We came up with that one already," said Neji. " Try again."

Gaara decided to add to the notions. " Ok, maybe…um well…suppose it's a class she's in? She may not be in our class, so she gave you her position, like second corridor, on the left or something."

Sasuke thought that was a good idea but there was one problem.

" That can't be right," said Sasuke speaking out loud. " That's for the younger students, like Hinata's little sister or something-"

At that moment Neji looked at Sasuke as he paused. Assumed realization dawned on him. '_What if is Hinata's little sister. Ugh'_

" No I don't think Hanabi would like anyone from our age group," said Neji, who was obviously amused at the theory. " She knows better than that. "

" What's that supposed to mean?" asked Shikamaru, not that he cared because he had Temari to deal with already.

" My uncle would razor his hair bald before he'd allow Hanabi that privilege. That's why she gave up on hopes for Shino."

" Well there's information no one knew about," said Gaara. " Oh well you're back to square one again, so just ask for another clue. By the way Kakashi-sensai just strolled in."

Face glued to his favorite book, Kakashi waltzed through the door.

" Gomen mina, I was helping a new girl find the bathroom," he said, sitting at his desk.

**FART **(echoes )

The whole class was in an uproar again as Kakashi bounded from his chair, looking all around it. He bent down to look under his desk.

**FART **( echoes )

" Ok once is enough, but you didn't have to make it twins, Naruto," said Kakashi, pulling a tiny device from under the seat of the chair. And threw it at said boy who caught it. Naruto then pulled the remote for the device from in his desk, where he was controlling it.

" Aww , Kakashi-sensei. How did you know?" asked the blond, who was now pouting. Sasuke honestly wondered how the boy became his best friend. Sighing, he dragged his chair back to his desk as did Neji and Gaara.

Kakashi just smiled behind his book. " Naruto, In my time- not like it was that long ago- we used wuppie (sp) cushions. You are the only person in here who would do such nonsense so early in the morning."

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And with that, Kakashi took register and left for the next teacher, who was Asuma-sensei. He taught math which was Hinata's all time worst subject. She just prayed she would get no homework from the chain smoker. However, she got no such luck at the end of class in which she just stared blankly at her paper, pretending to be doing work while she traced Naruto's name over and over again in the back of her notebook.

* * *

Lunch time came soon and all of sixteen friends were eating and talking at their favorite table in the canteen. Hanabi walked up to Hinata and stooped as if hiding from someone.

" Onee-chan, I need a favor," said Hanabi, darting her head from side to side and fingering something in her pocket. " I want to hide my cell-phone."

Cell phones were not allowed at Konoha High, but sometimes students did not listen.

" Geez, Hanabi. What happened?" asked Hinata, leaning over the table to gain privacy. Little did she know, all her friends were accustomed to her once timid language so they caught every word.

" Well you see, I thought I put it on 'silent' but I think it was on 'vibrate' instead. I had the phone in my desk when suddenly the vibration was heard. I turned it off quickly but Kurenai-sensei heard it as well and told me if I have it take it to the office. Well I couldn't do that so I lied and said I didn't have it so she said she'd be giving us detention which is right now. I asked to go to the bathroom so I could give it to you until this evening. Please take it, Onee-chan."

It was truly amazing the girl said all that in one breath.

Hanabi reached into her shirt and, supposedly, took the blue cell phone from her bra to show Hinata.

" I'm not taking that," Whispered Hinata, looking around as she felt thirsty again only to find out Sasuke had sat next to her. Looking back at Hanabi and sighing, Hinata finally gave in after many nods and shakes of the sisters' heads. " Fine. But I'm not leaving right now, I'm having lunch."

" What lunch?" asked Hanabi, looking at the apple juice in front of Hinata. " You don't eat-"

" Shh. Tell you what," said Hinata. " I'll let you put the phone in my desk, no one goes in there."

Hanabi looked at her sister with sparkles in he eyes. " Ok which one is your desk?"

Hinata was a little nervous about letting Hanabi hide her phone in her desk. ' _What are sisters for?'_

" You've been in my class before, Hanabi. Don't you remember?" asked Hinata in hushed tones.

" I can remember Naruto's desk because it's the first one you get to."

Hinata blushed, cheeks tingling as she remembered a certain blond. Looking around quickly to check if he was listening- he was making faces at Kiba- Hinata leaned in even closer to Hanabi.

" My desk is…two down, one left of his."

" Thanks, Hinata. See you this evening," said Hanabi, pelting in the direction of Hinata's class room.

' _That girl is so much trouble sometimes'_

Pity for Hinata, she was avoiding Naruto hearing her. What she didn't know was Naruto had no clue about her little secret.

And speaking of clues and secrets, a certain Uchiha had heard Hinata's disclosed information.

* * *

' _What? Two down, one left of Naru-_ _It's Hinata! She is the mystery girl.'_

Sasuke was in shock, to say the least. Hinata was the girl who liked Naruto? That was impossible. She was the complete opposite of the idiot he called his best friend. But then again, maybe that's why she did in the first place. ' _Damn Naruto.'_

Now Sasuke was pissed- to say the least. He had been hoping it _would be _'some random chick.' Hinata was too quiet and shy to like the dobe. Maybe Hinata was not the mystery girl after all. Maybe it was just coincidence.

* * *

After school, Hinata went through the same routine she had for the whole week: Go home with Neji and Hanabi, then part ways to go to her bedroom where she would make a B-line for her computer after changing out of her uniform.

Konoha's uniform was certainly different from the usual attire. It was red and white: white blouse, bordered in red with the Konoha crest on the right sleeve. Red suspenders held up the nine inch pleated red and white skirt and high red and white socks were worn with any black shoes of choice. That was for the middle girls though, as was Hinata. In Hanabi's case, she wore a knee length skirt instead.

The boys uniforms were also red and white as expected: a white long sleeved jacket bordered with red that had the Konoha crest on the right sleeve. This jacket was over a white bordered T- shirt. Longs pants were worn, held up by a custom made Konoha belt in the red tabs of the pants. This along with any choice of black shoes.

Hinata just did the usual and signed on to msn. She had not spoken to many people for the day, mainly Ino who was her best friend.

**Beep**

Looking at the screen, Hinata saw some of her friends online. Ino, Tenten, Kiba and even Neji who had his own Pc in his room were online.

**poolsofblue69 : hey grl**

**candyapple7 : hi. Sup? **

**poolsofblue69 : nm just doin that math hw.**

**candyapple7 : I 4got bout that. I'll just do it l8r.**

**poolsofblue69 : k. did u tell blondie who you are yet? **

**candyapple7 : um…no I came up with a better idea. I gave a clue to who I am ( don't ask I ain't telling u lol. It's too simple so u'll laugh ) **

**poolsofblue69 : w/e. anyways, I just wanted to ask if you did. I g2g now. Mum wants me to finish my hw first b4 I use the Pc and by the time I come back I know u'll be off. Cya!**

**candyapple7 : k ttyl. **

**poolsofblue69 : SIGNED OUT**

Then Hinata got two IMs.

**Beep Beep**

**fangboi2 : hey**

That was Kiba.

**screw64 : Hanabi told me dinner's soon ready. Not that you'll eat anyways.**

That was Neji.

**candyapple7 : hi Kiba. Sup?**

**candyapple7 : k Neji lol**

**fangboi2 : I'm gd.**

**screw64 : that's all really. I'm goin 2 talk 2 Tenten and some of the other guys. Talkin online with someone in the same house is weird ttyl.**

**candyapple7 : k**

**candyapple7 : k lol**

Hinata just waited patiently for Naruto to sign online, not bothering to talk to anyone else. She had added Sai to her list but didn't even pay it much attention since she was not sure how to talk to the stoic creature.

**Beep**

Hinata nearly fell out of her chair, after staring at her math homework for over an hour. Quickly composing herself, she typed.

**candyapple7 : hi **

**orangepink96: Hi! Wat's up!**

**candyapple7 : struggling with math hw lol**

**orangepink96: I can probably help u**

Hinata rose an eyebrow. Naruto, helping with math? As far as she knew, Naruto was just as bad as her in the subject.

**candyapple7 : how can u? did u improve?**

There was a long pause.

**orangepink96: erm no hehe…I was jk. I suck at the stupid subject. **

**candyapple7 : oh **

Another long pause.

**orangepink96 : so um on Monday u gave me a clue… here's the thing. I think I know the ans but I'm not sure. Can I get another clue? **

**candyapple7 : …I dunno. That wud b giving away the answer altogether.**

**orangepink96: aww pwetty plz? **

Hinata thought for awhile. What other clue could she possibly give? The one she had given was as easy as she could get a clue to be but Naruto had not figured it out. At least he was not sure about the answer. After a couple of moments, Hinata had come up with another clue. ' _I've got it! Surely anyone can guess this one.'_

**candyapple7 : k. here's the next clue…. Two across from cleanliness. **

_**There is the next chappie for you. I hope it was fun reading it. I know there was probably no humor but that will come sure enough. Thx to all those who took the time to read and review, It meant a lot to me.**_

_**Btw, I have a bonus for you readers. If you want the next chappie plus pics of all the guys and gals in uniform, I would like another 35 reviews. I know it sounds like a lot but those pics took a long time to draw. Even better, I'll give someone the pics to edit for me if they want, so they can put the pics on the internet. You can even put your name next to mine as the artist! I think that's a great deal for 35 reviews don't you think? **_


	3. Changes

**CHAPTER 3**

**Changes**

**---------**

_**Last time on ' Hinata the Vamp'……..Hinata has given who she thinks is Naruto another clue to help him find out who she is. She still doesn't know that Sasuke has been getting all the hints. **_

_**

* * *

**_

Hinata finished her math homework and got up from the computer desk. She walked over to the drawers and took out her clothes to sleep in. Hinata didn't like to were night dresses and such so she always just wore a short vest and her panties.

She went into the bathroom at sat in the bathtub, without any water and reached behind her to turn the tap on. She looked down at her body and sighed. Oh she would never get used to this new life she was dragged into.

Her life felt as though it was turned upside down . Her body had taken a 360 degree turn, she could no longer eat and she was craving more and more blood.

She could not describe the itching she was experiencing. It was like a craving. Like crawling on all fours in a desert towards an oasis but never reaching it.

She was starting to feel more and more dazed as the thirst was building up and she bit down on her tongue, drawing blood. She just sucked her tongue continuously as she stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around herself.

She had just stepped outside the bathroom door when she bumped into someone, her towel coming loose.

" Itai," Hinata mumbled, her eyes closed.

It was then that she took in the position she was in. although she had not opened her eyes, she knew she had bumped into Neji.

She banged against him, throwing herself to the floor, pulling him with her as she was trying to hold onto something to save her from falling but Neji had also lost balance and the two were now on the floor with their limbs tangled.

Still not opening her eyes, she became aware of the position she was in with Neji.

She was sprawled under him, her towel in a heap under her, leaving Hinata completely naked. Her hands were around him as his were around her, her bare breasts were fully pressed onto his chest which was currently shirtless. Her hips were ground against Neji's and her leg was around one of his own. Neji's other leg was between Hinata's, dangerously close to _her._

She slowly opened her eyes to look into Neji's pearl orbs that were looking back at her. Neither seemed to have the strength to move even an inch as they just stared for moments on end. Hinata was afraid to move, because if she did, she would surely press herself closer to him.

------------------

Neji was too stunned by this situation he was in. He had only come to ask Hinata if she had finished her homework, but here he was, on top of Hinata in a questionable position.

He could feel every curve of her body against his. Her full breasts on his bare chest and her flat stomach on his abs. Her legs around his tightly and his leg between hers; so close to the warmth he knew was there as her hands were around his body, her cold hands on his back. Her eyes unblinkingly staring at him.

He too was afraid to move. If he did he would see what his body was feeling.

Years seemed to roll by as he looked at her when he realized her eyes looked transparent and hungry. Hinata's eyes glanced at his neck back to his eyes then she gave complete attention to his neck again.

It was then he realized Hinata was thirsty, but why did she not just bite her tongue as she had always done before?

Before he knew what was going on, he felt Hinata's warm breath on his neck….

------------

Hinata was in a daze. She could not comprehend the feeling. Right in front of her was a neck. Pale and pulsing. She never had this feeling before. She wanted him…badly.

She licked her lips as she looked as his neck and shoulder and felt her canines had grown out and were sharp. She dragged her tongue over her teeth, sudden excitement coursing through her as she brought her mouth closer to Neji's neck.

Somehow, Hinata felt sexually attracted to Neji at the moment as she inched closer to him.

-----------

Neji was not moving at all. He was terrified to think Hinata was about to bite him. He knew she was serious, he could hear her ragged breathing and her body pressing closer to him.

' _This is wrong, this is wrong, this is so wrong.' _he thought. Just then he felt her tongue tracing his neck, moving upwards behind his ear. He struggled to hold in the moan but gasped as he felt her teeth raking his neck as she traced his neck and shoulders with her tongue.

" Mmm," he heard her moan as she arched her back. " You taste so good." Then she wrapped her legs around Neji, bringing him even closer.

Neji was breathing harshly has the very nude Hinata was seducing him slowly. She started nipping him all along his neck and shoulders, nibbling his ear as she pawed his back.

' _I can't do this, I can't do this.' _Neji repeated in his head when he no longer felt Hinata's mouth on him. Instead, she was just hovering over his vein, her teeth bared with a wicked smile on her face.

He had never seen Hinata this way before and with everything happening so fast, he leaned his head giving her complete access.

But as soon as she was about to bite him, Neji snapped into his senses. ' _What will happen if she bites me?'_

Just as Hinata was about to sink her teeth into Neji's neck, he unwrapped his hands from around Hinata and took her while pushing her back slowly, looking into her eyes that were filled with lust and hunger. ' _Oh no she's gone too far.'_ Neji thought as he started shaking Hinata slightly, who was still trying to reach his neck.

" Please," she begged, as she struggled to bite him.

Neji had to admit, she was pretty strong in the state she was in. He grabbed her tightly now and shook her fiercely.

" Hinata," he whispered. " Hinata it's me…Neji. Snap out of it."

Just then Hinata wrenched her left hand away and bit down on her wrist before Neji knew what was going on. He stared in shock as Hinata closed her eyes, apparently enjoying the taste of blood. He just held her as she moaned, sucking her wrist.

After she was done, her eyes had not opened but she reached to cup Neji's face.

She then opened her eyes and looked at Neji. He took notice of the fact that her eyes were back to normal.

" Nii-san," Hinata said weakly then she fell limp in his arms.

She was now sleeping peacefully.

Neji took up the younger Hyuga and placed her on the bed and just then her saw she still had no clothes on, her skin dry. He sighed and looked at Hinata then walked over to the dresser to get her lotion. He massaged her skin softly then looked at the clothes she had lain on the bed, obviously before she had gone to have her bath.

When he had finished dressing Hinata in her panties and vest, he made his way out the door, closing it lightly.

' _I hope she's ok.'_

------------

Hinata woke up the next morning feeling strange.

She ignored the thought and slipped out of bed. It was the same routine every morning at dawn. Bathe, go to the kitchen, go to school, e.t.c. but today was Saturday so she could lie in bed even though she knew for a fact she would not be sleeping.

Hinata stripped of her clothes, but as she did so she had a weird feeling she was forgetting something important.

Again she paid no attention to it as she stepped into the bathtub. She sat down and reached behind her, letting the water flow.

While washing, Hinata noticed a strange mark that she had never seen before. It was a bite mark on her left wrist but it had healed, leaving a dull white scar. As Hinata saw this, she ran her tongue over her teeth to find her canines unusually sharp and she got cut.

Sucking the blood that she could not resist, Hinata started to remember the events of the night before.

Her bathing… coming out of the bath… bumping into someone… lying sprawled naked under a body pressed on hers… thirst itching uncontrollably… Neji's pale, willing neck free for her feeding….

" EH?!" Hinata said out loud as she hopped from the tub as though the water was scorching hot.

' _oh no! Neji will hate me for this.'_ thought Hinata as she shoved on a vest and shorts and rushed through the door.

As she skidded around the corner, she bumped into someone, yet again. She did not fall this time however because strong hands held her in place.

" Are you ok, Hinata?" asked Neji, looking concerned.

She opened her eyes to see Neji's frowning face.

" Hai, I'm-"

Hinata paused looking at Neji's neck which was riddled in hickies and bites. Neji saw her staring and pulled up his collar.

" Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Hinata, her hand over her mouth as the other hand pulled down Neji's collar to see the damage she had done. " Neji, I'm really sor-"

" It's ok, Hinata," said Neji, looking away from embarrassment. " It's not your fault."

Hinata touched one of the bruised and Neji flinched, causing Hinata to feel even more guilt.

" But what if I did bite you? You would have been my first. What if I had killed you? What if you were not strong enough to fight me off? What if I had turned you into… I-into," rambled Hinata. She was so sorry for what she had done.

Neji gave her a small smile. " It's ok, Hinata. Really," he repeated. " I know you're awakening so it's hard for you to adjust to the changes. Your father told us all remember? I'll do whatever I can to help you."

Hinata grinned at Neji. It was then he saw her teeth. She noticed the look on his face and then covered her mouth. She forgot her teeth were still edged.

" Ano…" Hinata tried to say something when Neji pulled her hands away from her mouth with one hand. With the other, he traced her lips. Her canines were outside her lips as he touched them.

" I'm not afraid Hinata," he said. " Uncle told me everything before he left on his trip last Sunday. Follow me."

He led her to his room and sat her down on the bed.

" Now, Hinata," he said. " I know you and your father are not the best of friends but he cared enough to tell me about your stages."

Hinata's eyes widened as she took in what Neji had said. " S-stages?" she stuttered.

" Yes. He told me that soon you will start to awaken or changes will take place in your body you will not understand. He said auntie was the same way and he helped he through it. He told me to help you."

Hinata had no idea where the conversation was going but she nodded anyways.

" What you were going through in the summer was stage one. Your body developed quickly, giving all the primary assets of a vampire. Good looks- not that you weren't pretty to begin with- but now you're… ano… sexy."

Hinata blushed but continued to listen.

" Your thirst started acting up or itching as you call it. That thirst you have is for blood. It started out small at first with you just biting your own tongue to satisfy you. But last night I somehow triggered your thirst and awakened the second stage. With me so far?"

Hinata just nodded. This was the first time she had ever heard Neji talk so much.

" the second stage will be a bit more tricky than the first," he started again. " Now your urges will be really strong."

" Urges?" Hinata asked.

" Yes. Before you were able to ignore your thirst or bite your tongue. By doing that you got the tiny supply of blood you needed, but now you need more. That's why instead of biting your tongue last night, you bit your wrist for a heavier, faster supply to keep you satisfied. Also you'll be hungry but not only for blood."

Hinata thought back to the previous night. The hunger she felt. She looked down, ashamed of her behavior.

" I think you know what I mean," said Neji. " You won't only want blood, you'll want a mate as well."

Hinata's head shot up as she looked at Neji's calm face. " A mate?"

" Yes," he confirmed, looking away. " I don't know why I triggered the bloodlust you had or caused you to awaken, but Uncle told me it's a certain taste you'll have. It differs for all vampires so I can't tell you what your taste is. Only you can figure it out. But I'm not the only one who will trigger your bloodlust. It can be male or female."

Hinata's eyes were as large as saucers. " You mean even if it's a girl that triggers my itching I might try to bite her?"

" Exactly," said Neji. " I know that it's hard for you to take this in but I know you will get through it. You were strong enough for the trait to be passed to you."

" what does that mean?"

" Uncle told me that sometimes vampires may not pass on the trait to their children because their mates may not have been strong enough. Maybe the baby is not strong enough to handle it. Thus far… you have made it through. I just hope you are strong enough to hold in your itching at school."

Hinata had not thought about that. What would happen if she pounced on a student and bit them in public?

" You won't bite anyone unless they are…well as close as we were last night. I don't think that will happen."

He had answered her unspoken question, but Hinata hoped she would not be in a situation such as that again. She was lucky Neji was strong enough to fight her off last night. A student caught unawares might not be that lucky………

* * *

_**There you have it. The third chappie although not many people have been reviewing. The bonus still stands though lol. I hope you liked it because I really enjoyed writing it. I almost did not write this chapter because the most cruel thing happened to me. While I was writing, the window suddenly went on ' not responding' and I had to start over from the beginning ( oh my aching wrists). Anyways I'm still looking for those reviews. Please review, I really want to hear your views. I think that's all for now. Ja ne!**_


	4. Nice catch

**Chapter 4**

**Nice catch**

**----------------**

The weekend had passed quickly without anymore incidents. It seemed Hinata had enough blood to supply her for a few days. There was no itching and Hinata could honestly say she felt normal.

It was Monday morning and Hinata had already taken a bath and dressed. She was now in the kitchen with Neji and Hanabi who were eating breakfast while she was just drinking apple juice. Oh how Hinata longed to have some of the cereal. How she wished to taste a strawberry again.

But Hinata knew she could not because the outcome would be the same as always. The gritty taste of sand in her mouth instead. She just bit her tongue, sucking while she mourned the savor of food and talked to Hanabi and Neji for the rest of breakfast.

-------------

When the three reached school, Hanabi parted ways with them after Hinata was sure the younger girl did not have her cell phone again.

Hinata and Neji then walked through the corridors and through the door of their class room. Everyone was already there, except Sai. Ino and Sakura were feuding, Chouji was eating chips, Shikamaru was napping before his daily hibernation, Tenten was laughing at a joke Lee had said, Temari, Kankurou and Gaara were talking and Kiba was looking at Shino's ant farm.

And there he was. Naruto. He was annoying Sasuke but to Hinata, he looked so cute doing it. She sighed sadly and went towards Ino, Neji going in the direction of Tenten and Lee. He turned around quickly as he remembered something.

"Hinata," he called.

"Hinata looked around. " Yes?"

Neji looked around nervously, something Hinata did not think he knew about. " If you feel… anemic, tell me."

Hinata knew what Neji meant by 'anemic' so she just nodded. She doubted she would get that thirsty for a long time. After all, she pretty much drained herself over the weekend, not being able to move until Sunday morning.

When Hinata got in range of Ino and Sakura, Ino stopped immediately and beamed at Hinata, who was her best friend.

Ino and Sakura were friends but not best friends because of one thing they just happened to agree on. Sasuke Uchiha. From then Ino was Hinata's best friend.

" Hey Hinata," said Ino happily, hugging Hinata.

Hinata felt a lurch in her stomach but ignored it and hugged her back. "Hi."

They separated when Sakura decided she wasn't finished with the dispute they had been having before Hinata arrived.

" I was talking to you, Flipper," said Sakura crossing her arms and glaring at Ino.

" Flipper? How dare you say that when your feet are a half size smaller than mine," Ino retorted.

Sakura smirked. The two were completely ignoring Hinata now. Not that she minded anyway. She enjoyed seeing their little squabbles, because although they were mean to each other, something funny always happened during one of the many fights.

" So what if it's only a half size bigger?" asked Sakura. " It's definitely a half size TOO BIG."

Ino waved her finger in Sakura's face. " At least I don't have potato skin, what with all those bulbous pimples." laughed Ino. " Do you really think Sasuke would talk to you when you have twenty eyes more than normal?"

" Yes he will someday," said Sakura, tossing her hair. " But that's if he doesn't trip over those skis you have attached to your legs."

"Ugh," screeched Ino, seething. "You know, I'd insult you about the size of your breasts if you had any."

Hinata was sure the quarrel would end at that point since Sakura was sensitive about that.

"I'd tell you to kiss my ass but I won't bother," retorted Sakura stalking off to her seat.

Hinata just watched as Ino laughed and shouted "Like you have one!" loudly before turning to Hinata.

"There's nothing like a good fight in the morning to wake you up for school," she said as she grabbed Hinata around the shoulder pulling her towards her desk. Again, Hinata felt the thirst stirring inside and bit down on her tongue to suppress it.

As the two sat down at Ino's desk, dragging Hinata's chair with her. Ino then smiled at Hinata. "What's wrong?"

Ino's smile was even broader now. "Did you tell him… you know?"

Hinata bit her lip. "Not exactly, I'm still doing the hints and stuff."

Ino was about to say something when Kakashi- sensei walked through the door, book in hand as the bell rang. Everyone groaned and made their way back to their seats, not all moved too quietly.

"Ok, less noise please," said Kakashi-sensei, as he was opening the book for registration.

As Kakashi-sensei was making sure everyone was on time, Sasuke was still dwelling on the clue "Candyapple" had given him. He barely managed to overhear Hinata telling Hanabi about the last clue which led him to believe the mystery girl was her, but he shoved that thought because since before the summer, Sasuke had started to like the shy girl. Well Hinata was not so very shy anymore and although she was not as noticeable as now, he had planned to tell her something soon.

He knew the girl liked Naruto before but now she was trying to catch the idiot's attention. Oh no she was not, because Sasuke was going to make sure he saw every message first and keep it from his blond friend. He would invite Naruto to stay at his house for awhile so he could keep an eye on the girl.

"Hey, Sasuke."

Neji had brought him out of his thoughts. "Are you present or not?"

Sasuke had bounced his ideas off Gaara, Neji and Shikamaru but no one could guess the answer. It was now lunch time and everyone was sitting by the table eating and talking as they pleased.

"I have no idea what that could mean," said Gaara, scratching his head.

"Me either, she's good at this," said Shikamaru, yawning.

The boys had been talking about nothing else but the clue and none had figured it out yet. Sasuke looked at the people at the table. Everyone was doing the usual except Naruto and Kiba who were shouting at each other about who was louder.

'_Naruto. How could she like the idiot?' _Sasuke thought now stealing a glance at the Hyuga girl, who was side glancing at Naruto while talking to Ino.

----

It was now the two last periods of school which were PE. Sasuke and the others were now in the locker rooms changing into their gear. Naruto's locker was next to his so here was his chance.

"Hey. Naruto," said Sasuke, pulling off his shirt. "Lately the house has been kinda quiet so would you like to stay at my place for awhile?"

Naruto's eyes were as big as saucers. "Wow! That's great! Of course I'll come, just tell me when."

"Today would be good. So we'll go to your house so you can pack your stuff." Sasuke could not believe how well his plan was going.

"I hope there isn't a catch to all this," said Naruto, narrowing his eyes.

Of course there was a catch, but Sasuke was not about to tell him that. He mentally groaned at what he was about to say.

"The house has been quiet without you around that's all." He wanted to kick himself then quickly added. "I need someone to shout at."

That seemed to buy off the blond for he grinned and pulled off his shirt as well to change. Sasuke gave a sigh of relief and looked the other way. It was then that he noticed Neji's neck and shoulders which were bruised and had bite marks.

----------

Just as Neji pulled on his T-shirt, he felt eyes on him. He turned around to see Sasuke staring at him, smirking.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Neji, backing away.

"I see you had fun last night," replied Sasuke, pointing to his own neck.

Neji had completely forgotten about his neck and shoulders. Immediately, he slapped his hand on his neck, wincing from the dull pain there. Hinata really thought of him as a meal last night. And to think he did not mind until the last minute.

"A-ano…it's nothing," Neji said a deep blush on his cheeks.

Neji started to panic. He could think of no excuse. He pulled off his slacks and pulled on his shorts quickly. Sasuke did the same.

"I don't like to talk unless I have to either, but this girl must have been very hot for you to do that much damage."

'_You have no idea.'_

Neji then pulled down the neck of his shirt. "Can you notice it that much?"

Sasuke nodded. "I knew you were hiding something this morning with your collar. But now it's really showing."

"Thanks for telling me," said Neji, while he was tying his sneakers. "I'll go get something to cover it up," he said as he ran from the locker room. At the door he turned back. "Just don't tell anyone."

--------

Sasuke was shocked to see Neji so flustered about a situation like that. Somehow, the marks looked familiar to when he-

"Sasuke, let's go. Gai-sensei can be cruel when we're late," said Naruto, pulling on Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke just followed suit along with all the other boys, forgetting about anything else.

Hinata was walking through the girl's locker room door when a hand dragged her from her waist, knocking the wind out of her lungs.

"Shh, it's me," came Neji's whisper as he backed them into a deserted classroom, kicking in the door. Hinata was beyond shocked at Neji's behavior. Such thoughts were eliminated as her thirst was acting up from being so close to him.

She pushed of to avoid contact. Turning around, she saw the panicked look on Neji's face. "Neji, what's wr-"

Then she saw his neck, riddled with her doing. Gasping, she touched the marks, causing Neji to hiss. Of course she saw the marks earlier that morning, but it seemed the damage was more pronounced since Neji was now flinching away.

"Neji, I'm so sorry."

Neji shook his head. "It's ok. I just need you to cover it up a bit."

Hinata caught his meaning and rushed through the door.

Soon she came back with a make-up purse. "I had to borrow this from Ino but it should match your skin."

Hinata was truly sorry for what she had done to Neji. He had caught her of guard and this was the result. She motioned Neji to sit in a chair while she sat on the desk, taking out the make-up.

"So...ano. Did anyone see your neck?" asked Hinata, trying not to focus on the neck she was applying make-up to.

"Yes. Sasuke, but I told him not to tell anyone so it shouldn't be a problem."

Silence followed that statement. Hinata was doing a great job masking the hickies on Neji's neck when she remembered he had some on his shoulder as well. Unable to get to them, Hinata had no choice.

"Neji, you have to take off your shirt so I can cover the rest."

Neji did as was told and Hinata was now biting her tongue in concentration. All she could think about was how hungry she was at the moment. Apparently, Neji noticed.

"Hinata are you ok?" he asked.

But Hinata was dropping back into her daze. The only thing she was seeing was a meal, Neji's voice echoing faintly in her mind.

-------

Neji knew that look in Hinata's eyes by now having seen it the night before. He could not let that happen again. He took her by her shoulders and shook her sharply. "Hinata!"

Good for him, Hinata was not too far gone and snapped out of her daze. She snatched herself away, backing into the wall and quickly took her wrist. Just as she was about to sink to the floor, Neji rushed and caught her, shaking her again to wake her up.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Neji," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

He hugged her. "It's ok. I'm fine, nothing happened."

-----------

Hinata and Neji came out of the classroom and practically forgot about the incident earlier as they were doing various activities for PE. It was now the last period with only ten minutes to go until the bell rang.

At the blow of a whistle, everyone on both courts stopped. Gai-sensei told the class to go change before the bell rang, causing a race to the locker rooms.

While changing, Hinata made a mental note to stay away from Ino. Something just was not right when it came to close contact with the girl. Her itching was increasing just as badly around some of the others in her class.

Pulling on her blouse after freshening up, Hinata sat on the bench in the room by the door, waiting for Ino to finish as usual. She looked at her wrist which was now fully healed again, leaving the white scars. Hinata sighed. Neji was always there to help her and for that she was glad. He really was a good cousin.

"What's up with your wrist," asked Ino, cutting into her thoughts.

Hinata thought fast. "During the summer I pushed my hand through a fence to get a ball for a little girl and my wrist got cut."

Ino laughed. "Wow. You're crazy."

They both laughed as they walked through the door to their lockers. As they were passing the janitor's closet, an idea came to her mind. She would tell Naruto to meet her at the clue's location.

Sasuke was now at Naruto's house waiting for him to pack his belongings while sitting at the computer. He looked at the clock on the wall. Yes 'the random girl' would be home by now.

Turning on the computer and signing onto Naruto's account. He needed to talk to her again to ask for another hint and sure enough an instant message popped up.

**BEEP**

candyapple7 : hi

Sasuke smiled. Although the two had never really talked, he was looking forward to it.

orangepink96: hi. How r u?

candyappe7 : I'm fine. I um…have to ask you something

orangepink96: ok

"Hey! How come you're always on my account?" came Naruto's voice. He was now stuffing his bag almost ready to go.

"Just shut it," said Sasuke, as a message popped up.

candyapple7 : I would like 2 meet u at the clue's location if u've figured it out.

orangepink96: I'll meet u by ur locker. How's that sound?

candyapple7 : Sure. 2morrow after skool?

orangepink96: sounds gd. By the way. Here's my new address. Flames13. Add me soon ok? I'll be on that one l8r 2nite around twelve. I gtg.

candyapple7 : k bye.

candyapple7 : **signed out **

Naruto's voice cut into Sasuke's thoughts once more. "Are you listening to me?"

"No," Sasuke deadpanned as he got up from the chair after turning of the computer. "You ready to go now?"

It was now ten thirty and Hinata had just finished her homework and had now taken a bath- without any incidents- and was now on the computer in which her life seemed to revolve around.

She was signed on but was not talking to anyone she knew. She was rather sleepy but she wanted to wait until 'Naruto' showed up.

**Beep**

Flames13: hi there.

Hinata was smiling from ear to ear as she replied.

Candyapple7: hi

Flames13 : so…wat r u doin?

Candyapple7: well nothing actually. I was doing my math homework that was killing me but I'm done now.

Flames13 : u kno, my… best friend is kinda good at math. He helps me all the time. Maybe he'll help u.

Hinata was sure he meant Sasuke. She knew he was good at math and could help her but she had one problem.

Candyapple7: I don't think he wud help me. We've never talked really.

Flames13 : u have no idea. He's not a bad guy, just shy.

Hinata was taken aback. Sasuke? Shy?

Candyapple7: well I suppose u kno him better than anyone. Wud he really help me?

Flames13: of course I'll help u.

Candyapple7: u?

Flames13 : sorry that was a mistake. Sure he'd help u. no prob. Y didn't u ask Neji though. He's just as good.

Candyapple7: I kno but um… we have issues right now.

Flames13 : kk. He'll tell u when 2morrow.

Candyapple7: ok then. Wait how can he? Does he kno who I am?

Hinata started to get scared. Maybe Sasuke knew who she was and had told Naruto.

Flames13 : Yea but he didn't tell me a word about who u r. so… tell a little about urself.

Sasuke was thoroughly exhausted. He had been up until three in the morning chatting with Hinata. He definitely knew it was her now because she had given herself away when she had first said herself and Neji had issues the night before.

He wondered if it could have been about the hickies on Neji. Clearly there was a girl involved, maybe Hinata was not fond of her who ever she was. That was fairly impossible because Hinata was not like that.

Not dwelling on the thought anymore, he was actually nervous about meeting Hinata after school. Sure Hinata thought she was meeting Naruto but Sasuke had formulated a plan. He would simply run into her 'by accident' after school. After all, his locker was next to hers.

The day went by as quickly as it had come. Hinata was very tired from her long chat with 'Naruto' the nigh before. It was the end of school and she was by her locker packing her stuff to go home. She had told Ino and Neji she had a meeting and so she was now alone by her locker waiting for Naruto. To say Hinata was nervous was an understatement. She was terrified. What if he did not like her? He seemed to since they talked until morning but he did not know who she was at the time. She took a huge breath to calm herself. It was now or never and she was not about to run away now.

She walked past Sasuke's locker to lean on the janitor's door. As soon as she touched the door, Hinata found herself falling through it. The thing is, there were steps in that room, meaning Hinata was not in for a very good treat.

Her stomach lurched and she stiffened, her arms flailing grabbing at anything as she closed her eyes waiting for impact.

….. The thing is impact did come but not as she expected because she landed on her stomach on top something soft yet solid. Her eyes still closed, Hinata could not believe her luck. She was getting clumsier by the day. She tried to untangle herself from the arms and legs entwined with her own.

Hinata's eyes snapped open at the realization to see her face on the chest of someone. Looking up, she saw the face of…

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke was clearly hurt by the fall and groaned. "Nice catch ne?"

Hinata caught a glimpse of his neck and quickly scrambled up to avoid problems. "Are you ok?"

Sasuke nodded as he slowly got up from his position on the floor since they had skidded down the steps of the closet- like room.

"I'm really sorry," mumbled Hinata.

Sasuke shrugged as he reached to open the door that was now shut. "It's ok. I'm-"

Sasuke started tugging to open the door. It was then they realized.

---------

"We're locked in?!"

Sasuke could not be happier except for the fact that Hinata was panicking as though they were in a sinking ship or of sorts. It was true that the two were locked inside the janitor's closet with no way to get outside for there was no window to climb through and the door locked from the outside. Sasuke had one problem though and that was that the janitor was sick and so that was why the door was left unlocked in the first place until she came in the morning to clean up before school started, which meant they were locked in until morning or until someone heard Hinata banging on the door like a maniac.

He grabbed her hand as she was banging on the door. "It's ok. Someone will come. We just have to wait until someone passes by."

Hinata calmed down. "Oh yeah. Someone was supposed to meet me here so we can just wait until he comes," said Hinata, giving a sigh of relief as she sat on the floor on the opposite side of the room.

Sasuke was not happy with this. "I'm not going to bite you. You aren't close enough."

Sasuke flinched. He hoped she would not remember that night when he told her that same thing while they were chatting a few nights ago while he was posing as Naruto. Hinata must have noticed.

"Are you ok? Does your back hurt?"

Now that she mentioned it, his back was hurting. "Yea. It's nothing though."

Hinata inched closer.

"Are you sure? Maybe I can look at it."

Those words echoed in Sasuke's mind and before he knew it, he was taking off his shirt so Hinata could look at what ever bruise he had on his back. He did not expect it to hurt when she touched just below his shoulders.

"Itai that hurts."

He felt her jump back as though burned. "Sorry. Ano… it's a really nasty bruise you have and a minor cut since your shirt was somehow torn by the stairs."

He turned around to see Hinata blushing deeply. He felt like smirking. He was shirtless after all but his back was now aching. He hissed. "Damn."

He saw her looking around for something in a hurry as though avoiding looking at him. Then she reached up and grabbed a bottle of something. Walking over to him and sitting down, she smiled nervously.

"Well I found some anti-septic to clean the bruise," she said, not looking at his face but somehow at his neck and shoulders. She was biting her tongue as well it seemed.

"Sure," said Sasuke.

He felt Hinata's presence as she sat on her knees behind him. "This will sting."

"Wha-"

Before he could say it he felt a dull stinging. It was not so bad after all it was not a cut, just a bad bruise and a scratch. Hinata's fingers were making it hard to concentrate on the pain anyway as they were softly dabbing his back.

"So…a-ano, how was your day?"

Sasuke was surprised to hear such an attempt at conversation. She was clearly nervous about being there. It was strange for him too. He had planned to tell Hinata the truth but when he got to the locker he had seen hands and feet going through the door so he jumped to save her. Now he was badly bruised and aching in a locked janitor's room. At least it was clean.

Suddenly it clicked. The janitor's closet was next to his locker and his was next to Hinata's which was two doors across from there. That was the answer to the clue. Hinata was trying to tell him- well Naruto where her locker was so he would know who she was. Well it was too late now anyways but he had figured it out. Oh well.

"You know Hinata," he said. "I won't mind helping you with your math."

Hinata jumped at that jabbing Sasuke in the back. "Sorry. Thank you- I mean-"

"I know."

------------

Hinata was not thrilled with the position she was in at the moment but she just had to live with it. She was chewing on her tongue furiously to avoid chewing on the brunette she was behind. At least her math problem was solved. That was if she made it until someone found them without her biting Sasuke. Her feeble attempts to distract herself were not working and thirst was working overtime and to make it worse, the air was limited making the closet extreamly hot. She had to think of something fast.

"So you like Naruto?"

Hinata's breath hitched. She started to stammer when Sasuke cut her off.

"What if he doesn't like you that way?" he asked.

Hinata did not know what to say. What if what Sasuke was saying was true? He was Naruto's best friend after all.

"He doesn't know that you like him but what if I told you someone else does?"

Hinata was completely confused. Who else could possibly like her? Kiba?

"W-who would that…be?"

As soon as she had said it she found herself pulled off her knees and pushed on the wall.

"Me," she heard Sasuke's voice say for her eyes were closed. She slowly opened her eyes to find Sasuke's face mere inches away from her own. Her thirst was itching like crazy now from the close contact and she knew she would not be able to control herself if he got any closer. She tried to put space between them with her hands. She felt herself slipping away, seeing only Sasuke's neck.

"Sasuke," she whispered. "You can't do this."

--------------

Sasuke now knew what was wrong with Neji's neck and why Hinata no longer ate lunch. He knew why her eyes were filled with hunger. He'd seen his brother's eyes look like that and he knew why. He smirked to himself. '_Nice catch indeed.'_

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**_Well the you have it folks, the fourth chappie. As I said in my other fic, I was unable to update because my Pc was down all these months and so I was in an awful position. Well please review and thanks for reading. Ja ne!_**


	5. First friend

**_Here's the fifth chappie. Enjoy. R&R._**

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**Chapter 5: First Friend**

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Hinata was now in a complete daze, seeing only her meal. She was not as hungry as she was earlier with Neji because she had her wrist. But who could stop her from being greedy?

---------------

Sasuke knew what Hinata was but he was not the least bit afraid. He had dealt with his brother and his cousin for all these years and knew just what to do.

He leaned his neck to the side as though giving in willingly, but before Hinata could even lean forward, he grabbed her hand and trust it at her quickly which she took immediately.

He then tapped the back of her neck as soon as she started to slip out of consciousness, knocking her out completely.

--------------

Hinata woke slowly as someone was shaking her awake. She looked up to see Sasuke looking back. Somehow she felt like a blank sheet of paper.

"Where am I?"

She saw a hint of a smirk in Sasuke's eyes. "You felt kinda sick and passed out. Maybe because of the stuff you were putting on my back."

Now that Hinata thought about it, she only remembered feeling her itching when she was cleaning Sasuke's bruise, but everything else was a blur. "O-ok."

"You were also panicking about being locked up in here," said Sasuke.

Hinata now remembered where she was. How d-do we get out? How long were we here?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Long enough. About two hours."

Hinata's eyes opened to the maximum. Two hours? Someone would surely come looking for her. She was supposed to meet Naruto but had he not come?

"Sasuke, did…ano-"

"No. He's forgetful so don't take it hard."

Sasuke answered her question but she was not happy with it. She smiled to herself though, knowing the blond was indeed forgetful.

"I called my cousin to get us out and take you home. I have to go do some research for something that just came up. Is that ok with you?"

Hinata nodded.

-----------

Sasuke had a long night ahead. He had very a very vast knowledge about her kind his family was riddled with her lot. He just needed to know more.

There was a ring of a cell phone and Sasuke whipped it out and answered. "Where are you?"

------------

Hinata was not surprised to see Sasuke had taken the phone from the back of shoe, hidden by his pants. She looked the other way as though to give him privacy, but she still listening in on the conversation.

He was apparently talking to the cousin who was supposed to be rescuing them shortly. What she did not get however, was the fact that he was giving the person directions to their location. His cousin was probably older than they were, but the way he was so familiar with the person meant that they had to be of the same age. Maybe they were new to Konoha.

"He'll be here shortly. He's moving in with me today actually," said Sasuke cutting into her thoughts.

Hinata again nodded. She was shocked to see the stoic being that was Sasuke say more than one word to her for the time they were in the closet.

"Hey Hinata," said Sasuke, interrupting her thought once more. "I know you were kinda uncomfortable being around me. But…ano…I just hope we can be friends if you want."

Hinata was officially struck dumb. She struggle to say something but was at a loss. She guessed what Naruto said about him being shy was true.

At that moment, there was a banging on the door.

"Sasuke, you in there?" came a calm voice that was barely heard.

Both Hinata's and Sasuke's heads snapped around. Hinata ran to the door. "Please let us out," she begged.

"Can you get us out?" asked Sasuke in the same collected voice as his cousin.

"Here's the thing," Sasuke's cousin started. "We need a key."

"Damn it," cursed Sasuke, as he ran his hand through his hair.

There was a clicking sound after that and the door swung open slowly revealing an exit and Sasuke's cousin. Hinata felt an instant reaction to his presence.

"I never said I wouldn't be able to pick the lock though."

Onyx mirrored onyx. "You _do_ know I just got home and didn't even get the chance to unpack my things when you called."

The shy, nice Sasuke disappeared to the one all were accustomed to. "Whatever, Sai," said Sasuke. "I only called you because Naruto wouldn't have been able to get us out."

Sai glanced at Hinata, his eyes narrowed. "Well you had someone to talk to until I came. Let's go."

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Sasuke let Hinata go through the door before going through himself and walked down the green corridors to the front of the school, all in complete silence. Not that he minded or the other two for that matter. He noticed Hinata was chewing constantly on her tongue but was not uncomfortable. He knew nothing would happen because she was not hungry. When they got to the gate they stopped. He looked at Hinata and then at Sai.

"Sai, this is Hinata. Hinata, this is Sai. He'll walk you home."

Hinata nodded shyly. Sai smiled and took her hand, causing her to blush. "Well let's go then. See you at home, Sasuke."

Sasuke watched the two start to walk away when he suddenly remembered.

"Hey, Hinata," he called calmly. She turned to look at him expectantly. "If you need help with the Math, we can start from next week."

Hinata beamed at Sasuke as she continued walking in the direction to catch the bus and Sasuke walked in the other direction.

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Hinata's trip on the way home was actually a nice one. She got to know Sai better than she thought she would. In fact, he was pretty much like Sasuke to begin with except for the fact that he had lost his brother when he was younger. He told her about Sasuke as well when they used to go to school long ago. He was really nice to her and listened as she too told him about herself. She could certainly say he was as blunt as anyone could be but she knew that was just his personality and was overjoyed when he told her he liked art because it was her favorite subject as well.

"Well I'm the next stop," said Hinata, wishing she could talk more to the brunette.

"Ok. We can talk later then, you have my email address?"

Hinata smacked her forehead. "Yea. Silly me. Of course I'll talk to you later."

The bus stopped and Hinata stood up to get up when a hand held her back. She looked around to see Sai smiling.

"Thanks for being my first friend…Hinata-chan"

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**_I'm sorry this chappie is kinda short this time. My father was being an idiot so I had to come off early. I hope you like it though because from now the story will only get more complicated. Thanks to all those who review. I really look foward to your reviews. Also, there's a poll on my Hp so check it out ppl. Ja ne_**


	6. Cloud nine

_**Hi guys! Here's another chappie. ENJOY! R&R. Am I being hyper?**_

_**Thanks to those who reviewed you know who you are!**_

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**Chapter 6: Cloud nine**

Hinata was now home undressing. She could not help but smile when she remembered Sai. He was really nice to her and he admitted she was his first friend just before she got off the bus. They had a lot in common and she found herself liking the new boy who had opened up to her when she thought he was an emotionless being. Even more, he was Sasuke's cousin. Boy was that a shock to her. Sasuke and Sai never said anything to each other during school hours. '_Oh well,' _Hinata thought as she sat at the computer, turning it on.

She did not expect Sai to be at home yet, since she just got home and she did not know Sasuke's email address- or so she thought- so Hinata just waited until Naruto signed on while chatting with Kiba and some others.

**Beep**

It was Naruto who had signed on. She remembered she was supposed to meet him by her locker but he had forgotten all about her, which had now seemed a blurry memory for some reason.

**Candyapple7: hi**

**Orangepink96: how r u?**

**Candyapple7: fine I guess. U?**

**Orangepink96: nice to hear that.**

**Candyapple7: u didn't meet me 2day…**

**Orangeapple96: huh? I must have 4gotten. Sry**

**Candyapple7: it's ok.**

**Orangepink96: um…I'm goin 2 get sumthin 2 eat k?**

**Candyapple7: sure. Ttyl**

**Orangepink96: BUSY**

That was incredibly weird. Somehow, it did not feel like she was talking to the right person at all. Hinata sighed, looking at the conversation she just had with the blond. It did not feel right at all.

* * *

Sasuke pranced through the door to his bedroom. He was angry at the moment because he knew why he got the bruise in the first place. He had left his jacket hanging on his locker before he saw Hinata falling through the janitor's door. It was not like he cared, because he had one for each day. He was also angry because his Sai was now going to be living with him and his brother was also coming to live with him in the next few weeks. But Sasuke was furious because right there, in his bedroom, was Naruto. He was wearing his clothes. But Sasuke was not interested in that at the moment. There was Naruto, hastily trying to shake the keyboard of the liquid he must have spilled there.

For effect, Sasuke kicked the door shut with is foot, causing it to slam.

"Ah!"

Naruto looked liked he had been caught in the act of murder with the gun still in his hand. Sasuke cracked his fingers threateningly.

"Naruto," he said, sounding as calm as possible. "What are you doing? You do realize this is the fourth time for the year you did this."

Naruto scratched his neck nervously. "How about I pay for it this time?"

Sasuke was not in the mood for Naruto at the moment anyway because he wanted to find out if Hinata had gotten home safely or if Sai had caused her to be uncomfortable. Then he remembered, Naruto had just killed the keyboard in his bedroom. It was lucky of him to have more that one computer in the house so he turned and walked to the door as though nothing had happened. Just before he opened it, he turned to Naruto.

"No Dinner Dash for you tonight eh? You stay in my room, I'll take yours tonight. Tomorrow I'll buy a laptop." He looked at Naruto with a glare to melt lead. "You will _not _touch it. I don't feel like shouting right now so good night."

With that he walked through the exit, leaving a thoroughly confused Naruto.

Sasuke went next door into Naruto's room and sat at the computer, signing on.

* * *

**Beep**

Hinata looked up from her juice she had been blowing bubbles in with the straw. Lately, she found the taste was off. She could no longer taste the sweetness of the liquids anymore. It was more like drinking water with little juice. Hinata saw Naruto had signed on but with the other account.

**Flames13: hi**

**Candyapple7: hi. I c u've finished eating?**

* * *

Sasuke looked at the message. Finished eating? He never said- then he remembered Naruto had been on the other computer. He must have been talking to her, but by the looks of it, he had not talked to her much. He decided to play it safe and be himself.

* * *

**Flames13: actually, this is Sasuke. I just wanted to kno if u got home ok.**

Hinata smiled in spite of herself. She had made two new friends for the day.

**Candyapple7: ya, thx. Ur cuz is really nice.**

**Flames13: yea I guess. So…r u feeling better now?**

**Candyapple7: ye, and I suppose ur back is better now 2?**

* * *

Sasuke was actually smiling. He was talking to Hinata for over three hours straight, without even changing. He was awfully tired though and soon he fell asleep at the desk…..

* * *

Hinata was sure the boy had fallen asleep. She was not surprised after all he went through earlier. She however, was not tired at all and was very bored which brought back her thirst. Biting her tongue, she decided to have her bath early.

---

After her bath, Hinata went back to stare at the screen to see a message for her.

**Onyx20: hi. It's me Sai.**

Hinata was very happy now that she had something to do.

**Candyapple7: hi**

**Onyx20: y don't we continue what we were talking about earlier?**

They had agreed to finish their talk about various things and so they started, Hinata chewing on her tongue all the while.

* * *

It was now the next day and Hinata was now in Art class taught by Kurenai-sensei.

"Okay class, today you will be working on a piece. It will be a reflection of your summer vacation and should be exaggerated to add more meaning to it, even if it appears fictional. Begin sketching now and complete it for homework to be handed in next week."

Hinata was excited. She really liked Art and always tried to do her best in the subject to make up for Math. She thought about her assignment. '_Summer vacation was so complicated,' _Hinata thought, sighing. Then it hit her… a paper plane.

Hinata looked around while picking up the once flying object. Everyone looked innocent just sketching away and Kurenai-sensei was currently writing the due date on the board.

Hinata unfolded the paper, seeing a message.

_H_

_Stay here at lunch and eat with me._

_Sai _

She looked around to see Sai looking at her with a hint of a smile. She nodded, smiling back and stared at her blank sheet of paper. She finally decided on the perfect piece.

* * *

Sasuke was sketching a day at the beach. Just the typical drawing when he saw a paper plane glide across the classroom to Hinata. He thought it was just Ino and continued his work.

* * *

It was now two minutes before the bell for lunch and Hinata noticed Sai kept glancing her way. It made Hinata blush to see someone pay attention to her. She wondered where he disappeared to at lunch time since he never ate with the others. She guessed she knew now. She started to think about her conversation with Sasuke the night before as well. He honestly seemed to be a shy person who just wanted a friend.

The bell jolted Hinata out of her thoughts. She had to go to her locker to get her juice which had nearly no taste anymore. She rushed to the door quickly, looking back to signal to Sai she would be back.

In her rush, Hinata bumped into someone. Who was that someone?

Hinata felt the heat rush to her face in record time. She did not fall, but her arms were draped over Naruto…her all time crush.

Hinata saw that Naruto was not moving and was instead staring at her as though he now recognized who she was.

He started to stammer. "I-I…ano. S-sorry."

Naruto pushed her away quickly and ran to the cafeteria at lightning speed.

Hinata however was absolutely stunned. She was as red as a beet, completely motionless. Shaking her head, Hinata went to her locker and floated back towards the classroom.

"I see you like the boy," said Sai, as she sat down at his desk. She blushed causing him to smile. "Why don't you tell him? He seems to like you as well."

Hinata blushed ten shades darker than before. It was true. She felt something other than her thirst itching just now. She knew she had to do something. Then she realized Sai was not eating anything, but was just drinking cranberry juice instead.

"Aren't you eating?" she asked, sipping her own juice.

Sai looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I should ask you the same," he replied.

Hinata could not tell him she could not eat so she thought up the best lie. "I'm kinda on a diet. I don't eat lunch."

She knew Sai had to buy it since most girls said that everyday.

"Oh," was his reply. "You are perfect the way you are though, but I'm in the same boat as you actually."

* * *

Sasuke noticed Hinata was not at the table during lunch. He wondered where she was as he walked to his locker to see she was already at hers, taking out her books for the next class which was biology. It was the only class in which they did not do in their classroom, but in the lab. Before he could even say 'hi' she skipped off to class.

* * *

Hinata was now shaking with excitement since she found out she would be grouped with Naruto for the day's class.

Orochimaru-sensei was the biology teacher. Kabuto-senpai, the lab assistant. The two were always experimenting on some new project.

"Today's assignment will be very easy," said Orochimaru-sensei, pacing through the aisles of the classroom, sharing out bean seeds while Kabuto-senpai handed the groups plastic cups each. "This is the usual germination assignment but with a twist. You will put the seeds in various cups of sand, soil, tissue, e.t.c. You will see which seed grows the fastest and survives longest."

The assignment seemed easy enough. It was basic as far as Hinata knew.

"Hey," whispered Naruto, using his hand to block the fact that he was talking, although it only added to the fact that he was talking in the first place. "He said today's assignment. Won't this take longer?"

"Glad you noticed, Naruto," came a voice, awfully near. She saw Naruto shiver. Orochimaru had caught him talking and sneaked up behind him.

"N-no problem sensei," stuttered Naruto, causing Hinata to snort trying to hold in the laughter that was just begging to come out.

Orochimaru-sensei turned his attention to the rest of the class who were giggling and laughing only to stop when he gave them a wicked smirk.

"For those of you who did not hear what Naruto said, he was right to assume this assignment will take longer than the time we have right now. You will put the seeds in the different cups today and during the next two weeks or so, you will write the day's progress.

* * *

Sasuke was not a cheery person when he had learned the grouping arrangements. He did not mind being paired with Shikamaru but why did Orochimaru pair Naruto with Hinata? It was the worst idea he had heard for the term so far. Ino and Sakura were not exactly overjoyed that they had been grouped together and boy did they make that clear.

"Oro-sensei! Did you have to pair me up with potato skin?!"

"Do you think I want to be you partner, piggy?!"

"Enough," said Orochimaru-sensei softly, but the tone was so venomous that it shut up the entire class. "You will begin now." And so Orochimaru-sensei walked to the back of the room with Kabuto to finish what ever project they were doing before.

Sasuke swore they were mutating animals or something because last term a strange creature leapt out of the back room that looked like a frog crossed with a turtle. He just deposited the seeds in the cups while Shikamaru was sleeping as though it was four in the morning.

* * *

As Hinata and Naruto were walking outside to collect dirt, sand and rocks along with everyone else, she realized the bell would ring shortly.

"We should go back inside now," said Hinata, while she was pressing the seeds in her plastic cup into the sand she had.

"Ok race ya!"

Naruto ran full blast to the classroom as Hinata ran behind him.

When they got back no one was there yet so Hinata just sat at the desk while Naruto literally bounced off the walls. He finally sat down next to Hinata. She noticed he seemed nervous about something. She also realized he was blushing.

"Ano…Hinata," started Naruto, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "I'm sorry I never saw it before today. B-but you're really pretty."

Hinata's heart skipped a beat and she froze. She could not believe it. After all this time, Naruto finally noticed her. She was at a total lost for words, her mouth moving but nothing coming out.

Naruto looked away shyly, and then out of the blue hugged Hinata tightly. "Will you go out with me?!"

"Hai," said Hinata automatically.

"Great! I know this great karaoke place that has the greatest ramen called Ichiraku's. You'll love it!" he said still hugging Hinata from the side.

Just then, the rest of the class spilled into the classroom and Naruto let go off Hinata as though burned, the two blushing madly.

Hinata was on cloud nine, soaring to the stars.

* * *

Sasuke looked at his best friend, wondering what was going on between the blond and Hinata. He was distracted by the bell that signaled the time to go home and watched as Hinata practically floated to her locker with Ino in tow.

Something was definitely up.

He caught up to Naruto, who had a broad grin on his face.

"Hey, dobe," said Sasuke, narrowing his eyes. "What's up with you and Hinata?"

Naruto grinned even more. "Well you know how you said to try going after someone other than Sakura because she doesn't like me back?"

Sasuke nodded dreading what Naruto was about to say next.

"I never realized how cute Hinata was until today when she nearly tripped over me. I asked her out just now. She said yes!"

Sasuke was beyond angry now. After he tried his hardest to keep that blond from liking Hinata. He wished he had never erased the memory.

"Whatever."

He got his jacket from the day before from his locker and walked towards the exit, Naruto bouncing next to him.

* * *

Hinata told Ino the news while she was walking towards her locker. They were walking slowly when Sasuke and Naruto walked past them, Naruto winking at Hinata causing her to blush, looking away bashfully. Sasuke walked right past her not even looking her way.

"Wow, Hinata," said Ino, smiling broadly. "He likes you back! If only Sasuke looked at me like that."

Hinata felt a tap on her shoulder to see Sai. He was smiling.

"I'm glad it worked out," he said. "I have to go now, talk to you later." He turned and waved as he was running in the direction of Sasuke and Naruto, who had just walked through the door at the end of the green walled corridors.

Hinata and Ino parted ways at the door. Ino heading to catch her bus while Hinata walked towards the car park where she knew Neji and Hanabi were waiting to go home.

Hinata got into the car, glowing as though she was the happiest person that ever walked the earth.

"Whoa! What's up with you?" asked Hanabi as she was texting away her life as though she had not just finished school only minutes ago.

Neji looked at her, the same question written all over his face.

Hinata steadied her breathing and told them the entire story as they drove home.

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Hinata was now in the bath. She decided to take a bath early since she needed to calm he nerves. She just sat there as the water filled the tub. She bit her tongue as she soaked thinking her life could not be any better.

* * *

Sasuke avoided the blond by locking himself in his bedroom. He just stared at the laptop screen that he got one of his maids to collect, a blank expression on his face. Sai had tried to talk to him but he shut him out as well.

Sasuke's face then turned to a full blown sneer as he thought about his luck. Apparently, he had none at the moment but he was going to change that. He picked up his cell phone looking for the right number and pressed the 'call' button.

"Moshi moshi," came a familiar voice.

"I need you to come here soon. I've got a lot of questions to ask you."

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**_There you have it. I really hate to leave a cliff but hey, when I'm reading, they do it to me all the time avoids chair hehe. I'll update next week. Don't forget to vote on my polls. Also, I still have the Hinata the Vamp and another pic for anyone who wants to edit it. Send me a PM to let me know if you want the pics. Thanks for reading, don't forget to review._**

**_Is the ruler too much or is it just me?_**

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	7. Blush

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_**Hi! Here is the 7th chappie! I must tell you though, next week I'll post two chapters for each of my fics because I'll be visiting my cousins for a week so I won't be able to update then. 3600 hits- 63 reviews. Some people are not being very nice, but I love the guys who reviewed anyways. You know who you are! ON WITH THE CHAPPIE!!**_

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**Chapter 7: Blush**

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It was now Friday evening and Hinata was getting dressed to go to Ichiraku's with Naruto for the first time.

She was so nervous. Hinata had her bedroom in a mess from all the clothes and shoes she had thrown around. She even had Hanabi help her choose something for her to wear.

She was panicking though. Why? Her face was a sight to see. Her eyes were all puffy and her nose was red from all the sneezing she endured from looking for something suitable. Hinata was very allergic to dust and smoke and right now, tears were streaming from her eyes as though she was at a funeral for a family member and sneezing as though she had hay fever.

"It's ok," said Hanabi, who was putting up everything that was everywhere.

"Thanks sniff Hanabi," said Hinata from the bathroom. She was now washing her face so she could cool down before putting on her clothes.

Hinata rinsed her eyes to rid them of the redness and came out of the bathroom to see Neji there putting some of her shoes back in the boxes as Hanabi stuffed her clothes in the drawers and closet.

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Once the bedroom was clean, Hinata ushered the two out of the way to get ready. It was now half an hour later and Hinata was ready. She turned on the computer she had abandoned for the evening, to see new messages.

**Beep**

**Poolsofblue69: gd luk**

**Screw64: have fun, but be home by 9.**

**Socks23: (Hanabi): have fun**

**Onyx20: I hope u have a gd time 2nite.**

**Orangepink96: hey. U ready yet?**

Hinata replied to all the messages, finally getting to Naruto's. she quickly typed she was ready and Naruto said he's be at her house soon.

* * *

Sasuke was in a foul mood as usual these past few days, but it was nothing compared to what he was feeling at the moment.

His best friend was going out with the only girl he ever liked and there was nothing he could do about it.

He was lying on his bed, looking at the little sprouts from the biology project and sighed as he heard Naruto running down the stairs.

He had not talked to anyone since biology class and avoided any contact or speech with the Hyuga if he could help it. Not that anyone really noticed seeing as he was usually quiet and distant to begin with anyways. Worse, was the fact that since Naruto was his best friend _and _living with him which meant he had to endure the blond telling him every detail of conversation he had with Hinata the past few days and how cute he thought she was and how excited he was about the date and how Sakura was going to react to the whole thing.

He did not get why he cared about the loud, obnoxious, self centered, annoying female anyway, although she did seem to be not as loud as before since Naruto was with Hinata.

Sasuke was seriously considering telling the boy to move back home but thought better of it. Not because he had a little warmth in his heart but because he figured he could keep the couple in check.

Sasuke rolled over on his side for an early night, feeling exhausted from his past few days of stress.

* * *

Hinata was now sitting in the dimly lit Ichiraku's at a table with Naruto eating the ramen they ordered. She watched as he ran through five bowls.

"Aren't you eating?" asked Naruto, as he was polishing off the next bowl. "You only drank juice."

"I'm just thirsty," said Hinata. Technically, she was not lying. "You really like ramen don't you?"

Naruto looked up from behind his bowl, slurping up the noodles. "Mm hmm"

A number of persons were going on stage to sing since it was karaoke night. Hinata and Naruto enjoyed watching others embarrass themselves or sweep away the crowd with their singing. Naruto had asked Hinata if she wanted to sing something, but Hinata refused.

It was not that she could not sing. It was the fact that she was too shy to sing in front of people she did not know and especially because she could not dream of singing in front of Naruto.

Just then, Hinata saw Sakura walk through the door and sat at a table by herself. She wondered what she was doing there but let the thought go as she continued talking to Naruto.

Naruto noticed when Hinata looked behind him to follow her gaze to the pink haired girl. He frowned but looked back at Hinata smiling while continuing their conversation.

-----

It was now eight and it would take half an hour to get home so Hinata told Naruto they should be leaving.

"Aww, Hinata-chan. I really wanted to hear you sing something."

Hinata blushed as she looked away. "I don't think so."

Naruto scratched his cheek thinking.

"Aha! What if you only sing the first verse and chorus of a song then? It won't be long and we'll leave as soon as you're done so you won't have to worry about seeing anyone."

Before Hinata knew what was happening, Naruto was pushing her towards the stage.

"A-ano…a-ano," Hinata stammered as she thought of any excuse to get her out of the situation.

"Hey," Naruto called over the music to the man in charge of the equipment. "My…girlfriend wants to sing a song," he said, face red. "She's only singing the first and chorus though."

Hinata was just there, completely spaced out from what Naruto had said and did not even notice she was on the stage. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"I have the perfect song for you," said the man, not even asking Hinata what she wanted to sing and soon the music started.

Hinata knew instantly what the song was and blushed even more as she looked at Naruto and back at the words on the screen at the back of the room.

_When you look at me, I start to blush_

_And all that I can see, is you and us_

She looked at Naruto, who was giving her his undivided attention.

_Oh baby, I'm so afraid to be in love_

_With you_

_With you_

By the time she got to the chorus, she was really into the song and poured all she had into it.

_I wanna be in love with only you_

_I wanna watch the sky turn gray then blue_

_I wanna know the kiss that's always new_

She closed her eyes as she pictured all she was singing.

_I wanna be in love with only you_

_Just you_

_Just you… _

She opened her eyes when the music was cut off to hear the loudest whistles and applause for the night so far. She saw Sakura was not smiling or clapping…nothing but looking into her cup. Hinata ignored her and smiled as she said a grateful 'Thank you' and ran of the stage to Naruto who had a stunned look on his face.

"Wow Hinata-chan! That was really great and you never told anyone you could sing."

Hinata blushed even more as she looked away and they walked towards the exit.

-----

When they got to her door after the ride in the car Sasuke had leant him for the night- not that he was driving a chauffeur was- Naruto got out of the car quickly, ran around the back of the car and opened the door for a giggling Hinata.

He walked Hinata to her door and stopped. They both paused, not sure what to say when Hinata broke the silence.

"I had a great time tonight. Naruto-kun."

Naruto grinned. "Me too! We should do this again sometime."

Hinata looked away blushing again.

"You know," started Naruto, as he reached out to touch her flaming cheeks. "That song really suits you."

Realization then dawned on his face as he registered what the song was really about. He was now as red in the face as Hinata was.

"Do you really-"

Hinata saw light flush Naruto's face, making him squint.

"Time's up."

Hinata turned around slowly to see Neji leaning against the door frame with Hanabi next to him, smiling.

"Oh hey Neji," said Naruto scratching his neck nervously. Not that he was afraid of Neji or anything. It was just that he had planned to probably kiss the girl before he left.

"Oh Hinata! Did you have a great time?" asked Hanabi, clearly excited.

"Can it wait until I get inside, Hanabi?" asked Hinata in a forced tone.

Hanabi and Neji closed the door, but Hinata could see Hanabi peeping though the curtain.

"Well I guess this is goodnight then," Hinata said softly, trying not to let Hanabi hear any of what they were saying.

"Yeah hehe," laughed Naruto. "I'll talk to you later ok?"

"Sure."

Hinata's heart was slamming against her chest so hard she was sure Naruto could hear it.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun."

Before she lost her courage, she rushed forward and kissed the blond on her cheek before she pushed open the door, knocking down Hanabi in the process, while leaving a blushing Naruto touching his face.

-----

Hinata was so flushed, she ran all the way to her room. She flopped on the bed sighing heavily as her heart rate returned to its normal pace.

She heard her door open with force and felt weight on her bed.

"Hinata! Tell me everything!"

-----

When she had told Hanabi every detail, she left to go to her own room. Hinata then heard the door reopen to reveal Neji.

"So were you ok?" he asked, as he sat at the edge of the bed. "Did your thirst act up?"

Hinata thought for awhile. "Nope. In fact, I didn't feel it at all."

Neji looked relieved but then his brows contracted.

"Then that means he's not your taste then- as a vampire that is. But you still have to be careful. Half moon's coming up very soon."

Hinata nodded as she started to remove her jewelry and shoes. "I know. I can feel it."

It was true. Even as she was talking now, she felt even itchier than before. She stood up walking to the door. "I'm thirsty. I'm going for juice."

* * *

Sasuke woke up when he heard the car pull into the driveway. He rolled over on his back looking at the ceiling. He knew he would have to listen to the idiot relive his date to him and it made no sense trying to pretend to be sleeping, because he would simply try to shake his heart from his chest.

He heard hurried footsteps coming up the steps but it was more than one person. Sighing he waited.

"Hey, Sasuke!" shouted Naruto, as he bounded on the bed. Sai came in after him, though not as enthusiastic.

"I had _the _best first date!" shouted Naruto hugging Sasuke and Sai.

"So what did you do? Asked Sai, as soon as he regained oxygen.

'_Here we go. Talkathon.' _thought Sasuke.

"Well we went to Ichiraku's because they always have karaoke on Fridays and they have the best ramen around. Hinata didn't eat though; she said she was only thirsty so I ate her share."

Sai and Sasuke exchanged a glance.

"Anyways, we were eating and talking- oh yeah, I saw Sakura there by herself. I wonder why- but then Hinata said she had to go home by nine. I wanted her to sing, so I told her she only had to sing the first part of a song then we'd leave. Oh man! Hinata sang for me and it was so sweet! She was like an angel and she was blushing and stuff.

Naruto took a huge breath.

"We left after though, and I really wanted to kiss her but Neji and her sister ruined it for me. But there's still next time." Naruto was finally done.

Sai and Sasuke looked away at this but the blond never noticed. He just ran out of the room at top speed, leaving the two cousins.

"Well, I'm still sleepy so…" Sasuke trailed, waiting for Sai to leave so he could brood in peace.

"Yea," replied Sai, as he got up going for the door, leaving Sasuke to himself.

He lay down once more on his back, staring at the ceiling, drifting off to sleep at five in the morning.

* * *

_**I hope you liked this chappie. **_

_**The song in this fic was -Blush(Only You) by Plumb. You can listen to it if you get the chance. There will be more songs in this fic by various persons and even some poems written by myself in later chapters that have a major role in the plot of this fic. **_

**_Until next week..._**

_**Ja ne! Please review, I love it when you do…..**_

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	8. First Bite

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_**Hi! Here we are another week and I've just managed to update tonight. R&R!!**_

* * *

**Chapter 8: First bite**

It has been now two weeks since the date and Hinata and Naruto were on very good terms. It was amazing how he went from completely ignoring her, to being extremely caught up with her. Hinata was literally glowing every time anyone saw her.

She was happy.

The two had passed their assignment with flying colors and were the newest and happiest couple at school and everyone envied them. They were sitting at their table at lunch time and Hinata was drinking her juice as usual. Sai was there also since she had invited him so sit with them for lunch.

Hinata could feel her thirst acting up even more for the past week and had to use her wrist every morning before school now and the juices she drank had absolutely no taste at all. Plus her monthly cycle was coming around and she knew that would not be a pretty experience. Half moon would also be coming in a couple of days.

She was doing better now in Math since Sasuke had offered to help her, although he was very distant, giving her short answers to any question she had. She was not affected by it really, but she thought they were supposed to be friends. At least he talked to her online.

* * *

Sasuke was in his room. He had been avoiding the blond and even Sai for the past few weeks. He knew Sai said Hinata and himself were only good friends, but he could tell he liked her as well. 

Sai's condition did not make it any better for Sasuke. E was terribly afraid Sai would appeal to Hinata more than he would. Although Sasuke was sure Sai knew nothing of hinata's predicament, he knew Sai was not an idiot and must have sensed her by now, even though he did not make it known.

Sasuke was sick of wondering about the whole situation. He had to come to an understanding. He had to do it now.

Sasuke rolled off his bed and walked towards the door, looking back. '_No turning back.'_

He walked down the passageway and through the hall to Sai's bedroom. No one else was home since the maids had the day off and Naruto was on another date with Hinata since it was Saturday.

When Sasuke approached the door, he paused then knocked hesitantly, earning a 'come in' from Sai.

He opened the door to see Sai sitting up on his bed; he had been drawing.

"What do you want?" asked Sai, putting away his sketch book.

"Do you know about Hinata?" asked Sasuke, getting to the point. No sense beating around the bush.

Sai raised an eyebrow. "So you know she's one of us?"

"Yeah. I found out some weeks ago but I made her forget."

Sasuke saw that Sai was surprised by this information.

"So you know how to do that? Did Itachi teach you that before you left?" asked Sai.

Sasuke was sure he was the one who was supposed to be asking the questions. "Yes. But the thing is, I see when she's itching sometimes and stuff, but I never saw you do it. Why?" Sasuke said.

Sai smiled. "Well males have more control than the females in our kind. They need more blood than us in any case so that's why," answered. "Why did you come to ask me about Hinata? You like her don't you?"

Sasuke's eyes grew wide and his cheeks burned but he turned away. "That is none of your business."

Sai chuckled then.

"I know for a fact that you like her. But here's the thing, she likes Naruto. He's not her taste as far as I can tell, but sooner or later, she's going to want more and Naruto can't give her that-"

"And you can?" asked Sasuke, cutting him off.

"Actually, I can," said Sai, smiling once more. "But so can you."

Sasuke was confused now. He knew Sai liked Hinata now. He just said it although not directly but he also hinted for him to go after the girl as well.

"Why did you tell me that?" asked Sasuke, trying not to sound emotionless.

"Because we both know we like a challenge and I know that Itachi will be here soon as well and you know what he's like. He's a level above us and Hinata's going to notice it even if she doesn't realize."

Itachi. Why did he have to say that name? He would only make things more complicated and he had not even thought about it before. Itachi was a stage three vampire. A full fledged vampire who was coming to live with him and go to the same school in less than a month.

Sasuke was worried.

* * *

The weekend was about to be over. It was Sunday night and Hinata was on the computer talking to her friends. She had been chatting for the entire day and not spoken to her cousin or sister, unless it was online. This was the normal life on Sunday for Hinata. 

It was one in the morning and Hinata was still online. So were three others.

**Orangepink69: I'm so sleepy**

**Flames13: r u sleepy yet?**

**Onyx20: so wat time r u goin 2 bed?**

Hinata replied to them.

**Candyapple7: it's ok. U can go 2 sleep. I'll c u in the morning k?**

**Candyapple7: not really, altho I feel a bit weird.**

Indeed, she was starting to feel strange in the pit of her stomach.

**Candyapple7: not sure yet but it might b soon.**

**Orangepink69: ok I'll c u 2morrow, Hina. Gdnight.**

**Orangepink69: SIGNED OUT**

As Hinata was chatting, she felt the effects of her cycle stirring. She had not been in this state since she had developed to her second stage and was not sure what changes there were. So far, it felt normal except for the fact that she was awfully thirsty.

---

She bit down on her tongue while chatting but it was not working and the pain was increasing by the minute. She had to take a bath before she went to bed and by the looks of it, it had to be soon.

**Candyapple7: I gtg k? I'm not feeling well.** She told Sasuke.

**Candyapple7: I gtg k? I'm not feeling so hot. **She said to Sai.

**Flames13: Ok. I hope you feel better. Gdnight Hinata.**

**Onyx20: Oh. Well c u soon, Hinata-chan.**

As soon as she signed off, she ran straight to the bathroom, throwing up blood before she even got the chance to lift the lid of the toilet, making a mess on the floor. Hinata ran the tap in the tub while she grabbed tissues to clean up, going on all fours.

When she was done wiping the floor she attempted to stand but the room was spinning, causing her to drop to the floor once more. Hinata dragged herself to the tub, prying off her clothing.

She climbed over the edge of the tub and fell with a splash. Never before had she felt so weak. She had no choice but to bite her wrist, she felt too empty.

Hinata felt her teeth lengthen as her mouth neared her wrist. She then bit down, sighing as the warm liquid slid down her throat. Hinata then felt drowsy even more than before, sinking into the water to just below her nose to allow air in her lungs. She saw the swirl of blood from her mouth as she bit her tongue for extra measure.

One thing for sure was that she was not going to drown in the tub, so she pulled herself up and stepped out, seizing a towel. Before she could even wrap the towel around herself, the bathroom started spinning again even faster and Hinata felt herself swaying as she became even dizzier than before and sank to the floor on all fours.

Hinata then felt the sickly taste in her mouth and lifted the lid and brought up all the blood she drank not too long ago.

She crawled on the floor towards her drawers to get her underwear and such and put them on while sitting on the floor but she never had the chance to put on her vest because soon she was holding her mouth as she dragged to the bathroom to puke for the third time.

There she was. Over the toilet bowl heaving although nothing was coming up. She felt as though someone had kicked her in the stomach over and over again as she started sobbing from the pain when she heard Neji calling for her.

Hinata could not even make a sound to let him know she was in the bathroom.

* * *

"Oh my. Hinata!" Neji said, alarmed at the sight before him. He was on his way downstairs to see if Hinata was sleeping yet since the next day was school, but he never expected the sight her saw before him. 

Hinata was crying uncontrollably while trying to throw up. The tub was till full and was stained with blood, making him wonder how she managed not to drown and there was a blood stain on the floor that he assumed was because she had not made it to the toilet in time. Hinata was so weak she could not look at Neji. She just cried into the bowl in front her, coughing up spatters of blood.

"Hinata!" he said again, but got no reply.

He wrapped his hands around her waist and picked her up then carried her to the sink to wash her face and hands. Neji carried her to the bed and put on her vest for her. He knew what he had to do.

Neji was afraid. He called to the top of his voice for Hanabi.

He wrapped her in the blanket tightly since she was shivering now then tried to give Hinata her wrist but she refused, shaking her head frantically.

There was only one thing he could do and he took a deep steadying breath to calm himself. He read about vampire bites and knew the results. He would not be hurt or turned, just drained for awhile. He just would not let her get at his neck and everything would be fine.

Neji extended his hand to Hinata and before he could blink, she snatched his hands and sank her teeth into his wrist.

He gasped, feeling his skin torn and his blood sucked from his hand and began to feel drowsy as he heard Hanabi's footsteps loudly approaching.

He saw her rush through the door and hold her hand to her mouth from the sight she was seeing.

She ran to him but stopped short. "Neji! What is she doing!" she screeched.

"Hinata's sick. I think she has her…you know. She had to get foreign blood," he said, his voice breaking as he looked at the girl who was slowing down her pace. She had stopped crying.

"What do we do?"

Hinata then let go of Neji's wrist and he felt her teeth ease out of his skin, leaving two fang cuts and held his hand as it dripped. He looked at the now sleeping Hinata and saw she had blood running down her chin and on her face.

He got up quickly and got a cloth and threw it to Hanabi, who caught it and started to clean her sister's face, then walked through the door while trying to stop the bleeding of his wrist.

"Where are you going!" asked Hanabi, panicking.

He looked around just before exiting. "I have to get my hand cleaned up before tomorrow. She won't wake up until dawn but I'll be back as soon as I'm done ok?"

Hanabi nodded and turned to Hinata once more.

* * *

Sasuke did not feel sleepy. He knew Naruto would be sleeping like a rock by now so he went over to Sai's. 

"Hey," he said to Sai who was at the computer desk but was sketching again.

"Hinata's not going to school tomorrow," said Sai, not looking up.

Sasuke blinked. "How do you know that?" he asked.

"She's not coming to school for most of the week. She has her…"

Sasuke was no idiot. He knew what Sai meant, but how would _he_ know that.

"You're forgetting I'm one of them," said Sai smoothly. "I could sense it from Friday at school. It's her first time as second stage too by the way she was fidgeting and half moon's coming at the end of this week as well. I knew she would be sick but I just hope she's ok."

Sasuke knew about the sixth sense and the half moon bit. He then remembered something.

"But if she's like that she'll have to bite someone. Which means…" he stopped, knowing the answer then.

"She'll bite Neji for sure," Sai finished. "He'll be ok if she doesn't bite him seriously. But he won't be coming to school most likely either if I'm right."

Sasuke would have laughed if the situation was not deadly. "He's going to be so drained- literally."

* * *

Neji bandaged his wrist and was about to put away the rest of the gauze when he heard Hanabi's shrill voice ringing through the house. It was a good thing the maid had gone home earlier that evening. 

He dropped everything and jumped the stairs, three at a time and skidded at Hinata's door before he flung it open and saw Hinata thrashing in her sleep with Hanabi trying to hold her down.

"I tried giving her my wrist but she wouldn't take it!" said Hanabi, still trying to hold down her sister.

Neji quickly unwrapped his hand and put it in front of Hinata. Although her eyes were closed, it seemed like she could smell him and grasped his hand, sinking her teeth into his skin again.

----

It was four in the morning and Neji still had not gotten used to the stinging feeling every time Hinata bit him. He had lost count by now and had sent Hanabi to her room, since she was sleepy. He was sleepy as well, but every time he drifted off, Hinata would grip his hand again.

He knew he was definitely not going to able to go to school in the morning in the state he was in and Hanabi would have to take the bus.

Before he could settle his thoughts, Hinata started to cry in her sleepy state, not aware of her surroundings. She knew enough to snatch up Neji's hand again though, and bit down once again, earning a gasp from him.

It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

* * *

_**There you are! The eighth chappie! I hope you like it. I was hassled again but I managed to get a decent set of words down. I hope you read my other fic as well that is titled '**_**Princess Hina**_**.' It is fairly good since it has way more hits and reviews than this one so far so you can look up that as well.**_

_**I've started to reply to your reviews, answering any questions you have. I don't want any flames and this goes to LilyoftheFields I think his/her name is.**_

_**Also I must say thank you to those who have read and reviewed, especially black55widow who has read my fics and reviewed for every chapter, giving me the encouragement to ignore my father and finish this chapter tonight. I have another account. I only have one fic though for DeiHina fans out there. I'll try to make other fics for that account as well and if you have anything you'd like to see in a oneshot, feel free to ask. If you want to read it send me a PM and I'll give you the link to read it. (No, my bf and my best friend can't have it). **_

_**I'm really sorry for not updating two chapters for each of my fics this week as I promised, but i was reading other fics instead. I feel so guilty for it now...**_

_**I think that's all because I know some persons don't bother reading the notes.**_

_**Until next week- hopefully…**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_

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	9. Brothers

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_**It's me again. Sorry for not updating last week or earlier this week. I was lazy what with reading other fics. Thanks to all of you have stuck with me so far. I will see who has reviewed the most and give you a very nice pic that I have drawn. I drew it at 3am so I hope whoever wins it likes it. Well here I go. On to the 9th chappie. R&R!!!**_

* * *

**Chapter 9: Brothers**

**---**

So much for not waking up until dawn. Neji's hand was sore to the bone but it had stopped bleeding by now. Hinata woke up at least seven times during the night but was sleeping peacefully now, thank Kami.

Hinata woke up at dawn, despite the fact that she hardly had any sleep the night before. He had no idea how she did it but he needed his sleep so he left her room and went to his own to hopefully sleep for the rest of the day, which he did not doubt he would, seeing the condition he was in. At least she did not have to drain him dry. Vampire movies were so fake. He'd never watch another one now that he had first hand experience.

* * *

Hinata woke up and took a bath at dawn. She was still feeling sick but not as bad as the night before. She went down stairs, feeling as though she had forgotten something. She went into the kitchen to see Hanabi eating her breakfast; she had circles around her eyes.

"You didn't have any sleep?" asked Hinata, taking out a glass to drink some water. It made no sense drinking juice anymore if it had no taste.

"You don't say," said Hanabi, groggily. "You and Neji were up all night. Look at you, so pale."

Hinata's hands flew to her forehead, unconsciously as she remembered the events of last night. Guzzling the glass of water quickly, she said goodbye to Hanabi, who was now walking to the door to go the door.

"Why are leaving already?" asked Hinata, confused.

"To catch the bus. Neji's sick."

Hinata gasped and ran for the stairs.

"Thanks for wishing me a safe trip to school!" called Hanabi.

Hinata tore through the house to Neji's room and found him sleeping deeply. She figured he must not have slept last night because of her and judging from the foreign taste in her mouth, he had helped her when she was sick last night. She rushed back down the stairs and poured a tall glass of juice and ran back up the stairs, putting it on the table next to his bed. She hoped he would feel better. After all, he had made her feel better. She walked slowly back to her room to lie down; she was not able to sleep during the day and her stomach was cramping again anyway.

Biting her tongue since she did not need to bite her wrist yet because she was not going to school for the day, Hinata crawled into bed, feeling her itch increase. At least her body was accepting her own blood.

* * *

Sasuke's day was less than happy once again. Naruto was irritable as well, seeing as 'his Hina' was not at school and sought to annoy him more than usual. Sai was just his normally quiet self.

The day was going by as quickly as it could though and for that Sasuke was glad. It was lunch time now and everyone was sitting eating. Today, since Naruto had nothing much to talk about because Sasuke was pointedly ignoring him and he was tired of arguing with Kiba plus he was no longer into Sakura, he asked his younger cousin Konohamaru and his friends Moegi and Udon to sit with them so he'd have something to do.

"So, Naruto," started Konohamaru, leaning on the desk. "I hear you've got a girlfriend and it's not bubblegum girl over there."

"That's right," said Naruto, a wide grin on his face. "She's way prettier," he whispered so only Konohamaru could hear, but as usual, Sasuke heard.

"Really? The way that you used to go on about Sakura I thought you'd die a lonely man because it was clear she wasn't digging you," said Konohamaru in the same hushed tones. Moegi nodded and Udon sniffed loudly, dragging up the mucus that was obediently obeying gravity back up his nose.

"Whatever," said Naruto. Kiba, who was sitting next to Naruto, gave a wide grin.

"So, did you two do anything yet?" asked Konohamaru, tapping Naruto's back with a smirk.

"I haven't even kissed her yet. Every time I try to she makes up an excuse," said Naruto sadly. "She hardly ever blushes around me anymore."

"She's just difficult," said Udon, speaking for the first time. "Just drop her and try to get 'Everybody's' over there." He glanced quickly at Sakura who was trying to flirt with Sai and looking in his general direction from time to time.

Sasuke felt like clapping the muppet around the head for what he just said but kept his eyes on the homework he had just taken out to work on.

What was worse, Naruto looked as though he was considering what Udon had said as Konohamaru nodded his approval. Just then, Hanabi came and sat next to Moegi and started a conversation of their own, but not before eyeing Shino who was talking to Kankurou. She had not heard whet they were saying about her sister.

"I could never do that," said Naruto. "It's only been two or so weeks and things are going fine."

"Oh please," said Konohamaru, talking as though he was an expert on the matter. "You've went on like four dates so far. I agree with Udon. She's being difficult."

At that precise moment, the bell rang. Sasuke got up without saying a word and went to his locker to get his books and went to the classroom and sat down, waiting for the next teacher to come in.

With no Neji to talk to, Gaara not in the class yet and Shikamaru sleeping, Sasuke just waited patiently for the class to begin.

* * *

Hinata was staring at the clock steadily as the time ticked by. School was over and it would take about fifteen minutes or so for Ino to get home. Plus she wanted to hear from her boyfriend and newest friends as well.

Just then, she heard the familiar sound that was music to her ears.

**Beep**

Hinata got up slowly, because her stomach was still hurting, and sat at the computer desk, sucking her tongue.

**Poolsofblue69: hi**

**Candyapple7: hi**

**Poolsofblue69: I missed u 2day. Sakura was not even a gd fight cos she waz being all moody and stuff. The effects of PMS I suppose. Lol**

**Candyapple7: I'm the one with it. I feel horrible for leaving u at skool all alone 2day.**

**Poolsofblue69: oh…u poor thing. Naruto was moody 2day.**

Hinata smiled. Just as she did other messages popped up.

**Beep beep beep**

**Orangepink96: wat's up?**

**Flames13: hey**

**Onyx20: how r u?**

Hinata replied to them all. They asked her when she was going to be at school and wished her well.

----

Before she knew what was going on, it was after eleven in the night and Hinata was feeling very sleepy. Surprising everyone online, she signed off and had a bath. She went down to the kitchen for a glass of water, thinking to ask Hanabi to but cranberry juice for her because Sai had recommended it out of the blue, saying it tastes better than most juices although Hinata knew it was slightly bitter.

While she was drinking water, Neji walked through the door, looking even paler than she was that morning. Guilt washed over her as she watched him trudge across the room to the fridge and took out an apple then sat at the table.

"Hi."

"Have you eaten for the day?" asked Hinata, about to stand to make him something.

"Yes. I came down earlier and ordered a pizza for Hanabi and myself," said Neji, biting his apple and offering a bite to Hinata.

"You know I can't eat, Neji," said Hinata, smiling.

"It doesn't hurt to ask," replied Neji, as he continued to eat. Hinata noticed the bandage around his wrist.

"Gomen," she said softly.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry for biting you," said Hinata.

Neji smiled at her, tiredly. "I'm not."

"Eh?" Hinata was surprised by this.

"Look at it this way," said Neji. "It's a good thing I'm your taste. Otherwise, you would have been either deathly sick or would have jumped through the window in the middle of the night and bitten some random person."

Hinata hung her head low. Had not for Neji, she would have gone on a rampage, even in her sickened state.

"I'm so sorry," she said shamefully.

"I know," said Neji as he got up from the table and walked through the door, leaving Hinata alone ion the kitchen.

Hinata knew Neji did not mind her but that did not stop her from feeling guilty. Even more, the dreaded half moon was just two days away and just thinking about it had her mouth watering unconsciously.

* * *

Sasuke was not in a good mood today either. It was Tuesday and only a few minutes until the bell would ring for school to be over.

For the entire day he had been thinking about Hinata. He knew it was wrong to think about his best friend's girlfriend, wishing she was his instead, but he could not help it. Just like how he had some very exciting dreams about the not- so- shy Hinata. If anyone could read his mind, he would be in big trouble. Especially from Neji, who was at school once more, looking a little paler than normal.

He had been snapped out of his thoughts quite a few times by Asuma-sensei and when asked what he was daydreaming about, he had nearly said 'Hinata.'

He knew Sai was probably thinking about her as well, even though he only knew her for a few weeks. Well it only took a day for Naruto, who was sneaking chips from Chouji as the two ate discreetly.

The bell brought him out of his daze and he was now at his locker. To make it worse, his locker was nest to Hinata's so his thoughts went flushing back into his mind, but he pushed the delicious thoughts from his mind when Sai and Naruto came hi way.

* * *

The week was going by quickly and before she knew it, it was Thursday. Her period was over and she was ready to go to school again after taking not only her wrist, but Neji's as well for a safety measure. She did not want to take it but he insisted since she did not have foreign blood since last Sunday and it would be best to play it safe. After all, they did not want her to pounce on anyone, since she was still itchy because of the upcoming half moon which would be tomorrow.

She was so scared. She had no idea what to expect and just thinking about it made her want to shrink into a little ball.

But she could not think about that now. Hinata had school to think about as Neji drove Hinata and her sister to school.

She would just have to wait.

* * *

School was over an hour ago and Sasuke was home chatting with Hinata when he got a message.

**Beep**

**Specks26: hi**

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

**Flames13: u were supposed 2 b here wks ago.**

**Specks26: I kno, but I'll be there soon.**

**Flames13: How soon?**

**Specks26: u'll have ur hands full wat with half moon 2morrow.**

**Flames13: wat do u mean? Sai can take care of himself.**

**Specks26: so he's not there yet?**

Before Sasuke could reply, his door was opened.

"Sasuke!" yelled Naruto; Sai was behind him, as expressionless as ever. "Guess who's here?"

Sasuke looked back at the computer then back at Naruto.

Naruto and Sai backed against the door frame, making way for no other but his brother. Uchiha Itachi.

The aura around him was enough to cause Naruto to not bounce off the walls. Naruto had no idea Itachi was a vampire. He did not know Sai was one either, but just the presence of his older brother visibly sent chills down Naruto's back.

"Well I'm going back to my room," said Naruto nervously and inched away out of sight, leaving Sai, Itachi and himself in silence until Sai broke it.

"Well, Itachi," said Sai calmly. His presence was also colder than before. "Nice to see you again."

"Same here," was Itachi's response.

Sai nodded and turned on his heel, leaving the two brothers. Itachi walked in and sat on Sasuke's bed. The air was so thick around him that Sasuke could hardly breathe. This was what a vampire was.

Not that he was afraid of Itachi. They were actually quite close before he left his former home to live in Konoha. But everything about his brother screamed predator. Now Sasuke knew why Sai was behaving the way he was. It was vampires predominate nature. And Itachi won hands down.

"Now I see who Karin was talking about," said Sasuke, turning around to continue his chatting.

**Flames13: Nvm. He's here.**

"What was that smell?" asked Itachi, changing the subject before it could hardly start.

Sasuke was not sure what he meant. "What do you mean?"

Itachi inhaled. To Sasuke, it felt as though he was sucking the life from his lungs.

"On Naruto," said Itachi. "I can smell it. Who is she?"

_Oh shit._

_

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_**There you are all done. Thanks to all those who review. To show you how much I appreciate your reviews, I will do a count of all reviews to see who has stuck it out with me and gave the most reviews and I will give you a pic that I drew at 3am. **_

_**I've written another oneshot on my other account so if you want to read it, just send your request with your review and I'll give you the link. **_

_**Oh yeah, be sure to read **_'**Princess Hina'** _**as well if you have not done it yet.**_

_**Until next week…**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_

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	10. Itachi's Awakening

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_**Here is the 10th chappie ppl! I hope you like it. I have a winner for this fic in terms of the most reviews and that person is Crystaldrops14! She will receive the same pic black55widow will get for the other fic as soon as they contact me.**_

_**Excuse any spellings errors.**_

_**R&R!!**_

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**Chapter 10: Itachi's awakening**

**----**

Sasuke fidgeted. It was not often he got nervous, but in the few times that he did, he suffered. "W-what do you mean?" he stuttered and cursed himself for the weakness.

Itachi smirked, almost a mirror image of Sasuke. "Don't play with me. I can smell her on you and Sai as well."

"Why do you want to know anyways?" asked Sasuke. There was no way he was going to let Itachi get everything he wanted.

"She's new meat. Her blood is pure."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "She is not some piece of meat. There are plenty others out there for you."

Itachi's smirk widened. "Yes there are others, but not as pure as she is."

"Look can we just change the subject?" asked Sasuke, as he leaned into his chair. "She is Hyuga, that's all you need to know."

"Hn, Hyuga with the white eyes," said Itachi standing up. "She's forbidden."

Sasuke was thoroughly confused. "Forbidden? What do you mean…forbidden?"

Itachi walked to the door and looked back. "No time for idle chatter, little brother."

Sasuke sighed. He would find out what he meant soon enough.

"How did you get here so fast anyway?" asked Sasuke, as the wheels in his mind started to work overdrive.

"Idiot. How do I get anywhere?" said Itachi softly and a fluttering of wings was heard. Just then, the traveling cloak he was wearing melted into dozens of crows and concealed his form until there was only one bat left and he was gone. All in the span of a couple of seconds his presence was absent. (_**I used crows as used in Shippuden instead of bats for a reason**_)

"Man, I hate when he does any of that vampire stuff," said Sasuke to himself as he rubbed his forehead. He had forgotten his brother's way of travel and life. When he had first seen even a part of Itachi's way of life, he nearly wet himself. He was only six at the time and Itachi was about to become a stage three vampire.

* * *

"_So what do you have to do to become a full vampire?" asked a six year old Sasuke._

"_I have to go through certain procedures to be a true vampire," said Itachi. They were just sitting idly on the step of his former home which was a few miles away from Konoha or on the outskirts. "You are too young to understand."_

"_Oka-san and Otou-san told me the same thing."_

"_Because it's complicated."_

"_Can I become a vampire just like you?" asked Sasuke with unveiled interest._

_Itachi smirked. "Yes, but your heart is not strong enough to handle it."_

_The six year old pouted. His brother was a vampire. The beings always fascinated him when his mother told him bed-time stories about it. Never in a million years would he have guessed his family was harboring the creatures. _

_His father had taken him with Itachi to the country and it was then that he knew. His father simply told him Itachi was a vampire and so was he as though it was just another boring conversation over the hamburgers they were eating- well that Sasuke was eating because his father and brother had not eaten a morsel- and that was that._

_That was a year ago and Itachi was newly a stage two vampire. He should have guessed by the way he was acting all superior to most children in the neighborhood, never eating and hardly even drinking anything and never lost any weight._

_He knew now that his family was part of the Uchiha clan of vampires. One of the few clans in the world._

_He released those thought when a question came to mind out of nowhere._

"_How come Oka-san is living?" he asked, remembering some of his cousins who had lost their mother to siblings._

_Itachi sighed. "You know, for having the privilege of being related to me, you have no brain," he said, earning another pout from the small boy. "Oka-san is not a vampire, Otou-san is. So you put her in no harm."_

"_Why couldn't I be a vampire from the start? It's unfair," said Sasuke frowning. It was enough that his brother was good at school and at anything he attempted to do._

"_There can only be one heir," said Itachi shortly and then he stood up. "Are you done with twenty-one questions?" and he flicked Sasuke on the forehead, making the younger boy flinch. "Good."_

"_Can I go with you when you turn?" he called, as Itachi started to walk away._

_Itachi looked back at him. "I don't think you'd be able to stomach it."_

_Sasuke did not doubt it either. He'd seen Itachi take his wrist before and was horrified that someone should drink their own blood. Lord knows what he would have to do when he was a stage three. _

_Itachi was advanced for a child his age. As far as Sasuke knew, vampires awakened at around the age of sixteen, but here was his brother, a stage two at that and on h is way to becoming a full vampire in less than twenty-four hours._

_The very idea made him shiver. When he watched vampire movies or read the books, it sometimes made out the beings to be blood-sucking monsters draining the lives of poor, innocent people._

_Well…technically, that was true, but they were not monsters. Humans? No. But not monsters either._

_

* * *

_

_It was the middle of the night when Sasuke woke up from the slight change in the atmosphere. The house felt bare somehow; cold._

_Sasuke got up and went into his parents' bedroom to see that they were gone. Panicking, but keeping his cool as a trained Uchiha should, he stalked off to his brother's room and opened the door slowly to peep inside, seeing no one occupying Itachi's bed. _

_Where had they gone? Did they abandon him? _

_No, no that wasn't it. Itachi's full awakening was supposed to be tonight. He sighed in relief, knowing not where exactly they wee, but at least they were coming back. Sasuke would just calmly go back to bed and go to sleep._

_Who was he kidding? He was a six year old, alone in the dead of the night and knew that somewhere, his brother would become the youngest stage three in the clan._

_He just had to witness it. _

_He tiptoed unnecessarily back to his room as though everyone was still in the house. Slipping on a jacket, Sasuke nearly jumped a foot in the air when he heard a noise coming from the garage. They had to be in there. _

_Sneaking down the stairs, avoiding all the areas of the stairs he knew that creaked, Sasuke finally reached the back door. With a soft click, he made a crack in the doorway and slipped through, putting a shoe in the way so that if he needed to run back into the house, he would be able to make a quick escape._

_And Itachi said he had no brain._

_Sasuke walked through the forest towards the dim light he saw there, roughly in the middle of the mass of trees as the same trees tried to hold him back from what he knew would probably be the greatest terror of his life but he shrugged the apparent hands off his shoulders and continued until he heard voices and saw who was in the clearing._

_Sasuke breathed slowly and calmly in through his nose, out through his mouth, concealing any hint of a scared to death boy hiding behind a tree._

_His mother and Father were there as well as Itachi. He was sitting in the middle of the group, while the others stood with candles around him .The clan elder and a few of the persons Sasuke was sure had to be stage threes as well._

_His breath hitched as he heard the oldest clan member, Uchiha Madara speak. Just hearing the man's voice sent chills up the six year old's back._

"_We are all here to witness the full awakening of Uchiha Itachi," Madara said, softly. "All of those who object say now." There was a seething threat in the sound of his voice that dared anyone to disagree with the situation._

_No one moved and inch._

"_Good to know," he said. He reached into an old, worn out sack and pulled out a box a matches. "The awakening will now begin."_

_Madara gave the box to another Uchiha that Sasuke never even saw before. Fugaku and the other chosen vampires, he assumed, formed a circle around Itachi who was looking as though he was seated at the dinner table at home. His mother stayed where she was, looking afraid._

_The woman who had the matches, walked anti-clockwise around Itachi and lit all the candles, casting an eerie shadow over Itachi's already scary face in Sasuke's opinion and took her place in the circle._

_All the Uchiha's were sitting on their feet and bowed. _

_Madara was the only one who was not in the circle. He stood in the circle, next to the sitting Itachi, his cold obsidian eyes glinting in the glow of the candles illumination. _

_He reached into the sack without even looking inside and took out a dagger with a hilt of what looked like the very stone of his eye's sake and garnet stones from what the boy could tell from his position. He reached in again and took a rather large silver goblet and set it down in front of Itachi on the ground._

"_Your hand." Everything the man said was a demand._

_Itachi held out his hand, palm up to Madara with an expressionless face. Sasuke was sure that had it been him in that circle he would have been shaking like a leaf, not that he was not at the moment._

_Madara took Itachi's hand and ran the dagger over his wrist before any objections could be made and Itachi winced, showing just for a moment a flicker of fear before schooling his face to being the stoic rock it was._

_Mikoto inhaled sharply and covered he mouth quickly when Madara shot a glare in her direction as he was still holding her son's hand that was now bleeding uncontrollably into the goblet._

_A sweet, metallic scent wafted through the air towards Sasuke and it made him feel excited almost as he felt the meager muscles in his stomach clench._

_If Sasuke thought that Madara was cruel for cutting his brother's wrist, it was nothing like what he was sure was about to happen._

"_Your hand," said Madara again and Itachi slowly gave him his other hand that was slit across the wrist like the other had been and now both Itachi's wrists were turned down to allow the blood to flow freely into the goblet as Madara held both his hand together, overflowing to form a patch of gore on the forest floor as Itachi winced even more._

_Sasuke stole a glace at his mother to see she was shaking as badly as he was but she dared not move or make a sound. Madara took up the goblet and, to Sasuke's mortification, lifted the dripping container to his mouth and drank some of the contents as he closed his eyes as if relishing the taste, which Sasuke did not doubt._

_That was not the worst part. Madara took the goblet from his blood drenched lips, licking the thick liquid from them and then he opened his eyes. _

_Sasuke was sure his eyes would pop out of his head any second now and his throat would collapse from the silent scream that was fighting so hard to be released. Madara's eyes were now as blood-red as the blood he just drank and the ruby orbs glowed as though seeing every move made at that moment. Sasuke froze, breathing as slowly as he could manage through his nose, because if he dared opened his mouth, he would surely be caught from the shriek he would let out and he was sure his mother felt the same way, for she was as stiff as a board._

_Madara looked down on the bowed figures before him. "Rise," he said in an animalistic voice that caused every hair Sasuke possessed to stand on end. The other vampires did as was told, with their eyes closed and Madara placed the goblet in front of Fugaku who, like the others, had not opened his eyes yet. As if by pure instinct, Fugaku reached out and grasped the goblet accurately and lifted it to his lips as well._

_What of Itachi? He was still sitting there all emotionless, but his eyes held so much interest that Sasuke had never seen before. He looked completely drained and pale and his dark eyes were drooping, the posture forgotten as he slouched from lack of blood in his body._

_Sasuke looked at Fugaku as he sipped the blood, licking his lips as he passed the goblet to the person next to him until the last person had a drink and threw the empty goblet to the middle of the circle, still blinded by eyelids only to lift them with the blink of an eye to reveal the same terrifying,, gleaming eyes, as piercing as the dagger Itachi had been sliced with._

_Sasuke gasped and immediately saw his mistake as all bloodstone orbs flickered in his direction with menacing glares._

_Sasuke did not know if to move or not, but he thought that his body made the better judgment for him, for he turned and pelted in the other direction towards his home without looking back. Looking back caused you to trip over your feet and he could not risk being caught right now because he knew for sure someone was running behind him._

_Sasuke saw his house and picked up his speed throwing his feet about him as he propelled himself forward. At this rate, Sasuke was so afraid that he felt as though he would go on all fours to see if he could go faster as he ripped his clothing as the trees mocked him by trying to hold him back as if saying 'I told you so.'_

_Sasuke pulled open the back door, shoving against the house with a bang and started to run but turned around quickly and heaved in the door, locking it._

_Sasuke felt as though he had just run through heaven's gates as he scrambled up the stairs to his bedroom and shut the door, locking it as he heard the door rattling with the pressure of being forced open._

_He stood there petrified as he heard the footsteps coming closer to his bedroom when he felt a warm sensation creeping down his legs._

"_Sasuke, honey? Are you okay?"_

_That was his mother's voice._

_

* * *

_

Scratch that part about nearly wetting himself. He _did _wet himself.

Sasuke sighed as he remembered the humiliation of opening the door to his mother to see that he, a proud boy of six years old who never even wet the bed, pee his pants.

Thank Kami he and his mother cleaned up before his father and Itachi came home. Itachi being carried by his father to his room.

Sasuke wondered what had happened but was never told.

He sighed again and rubbed his eyes tiredly as he signed out and dragged his feet to the bathroom to have a warm shower.

He still wanted to know what Itachi meant when he said that Hyuga were forbidden.

* * *

_**There you have it. The 10th chappie! I should be at my cousin's house right now but I stayed just for a day so I could update for my lovely readers. I would have made the chapter longer but I want to start the Halfmoon in a new chapter where Hinata will be the dominant character just as Sasuke dominated this chapter.**_

_**I hope this chapter is long enough to keep you sane until next week and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I pray it's not too dark for you.**_

_**Would you believe me if I said I've never read a vampire book before? It's the truth! I plucked all these ideas from the top of my head so I hope I don't offend any religions or dented beliefs with this chapter. **_

_**This chapter should clear up most of the questions you may have but there are a lot more explanations in other chapters that will clear up and quench your thirst for answers. Be sure to read my other fic as well if you have not done so yet.**_

_**Until next week…**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do! **_

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	11. Others

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Sorry for making you guys wait so long, but I've just started to watch Death Note and I'm really caught up in it. Anyways, on with the lengthened chappie. Excuse any spelling errors or slight typos. R&R!!

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**Chapter 11: Others**

Dawn was approaching and before Hinata could register it in her mind, her body was already reacting to it even as she slept.

Her eye lids opened against her will, flooding her vision with the inside of her room and as usual, Hinata swung her feet off the bed to get up.

She did not know how it happened, but suddenly, she was sprawled on her bed once again with dizziness as her ceiling rotated, but as soon as it came, it went.

Hinata shook her head to rid the sensation of tumbling down as she walked to her bathroom to take a bath and get ready for the day. She just hoped none of that would happen for the rest of the day. After her bath, she would take both her wrist and Neji's.

Hinata could not believe it. Three new students were now at Konoha High, two of which were in her class.

"…don't you introduce yourselves?" said Kakashi to the new transfers who were standing at the front of the class now.

"My name is Karin," said the first. Her hair was a vivid red and wore glasses. She seemed nice enough.

"My name is Kin," said the other. She had long black hair and if her eyes were not black as well, Hinata could easily see her as an older version of herself.

"Very well," said Kakashi-sensei, as he pointed to two desks that were now added to the room. "Your seats are over there."

Both girls walked over to their seats, sitting not once looking at the other.

Hinata looked around the classroom to see the other's reactions to the new comers and saw that already they were liked. Something was strange to her though. Sasuke and Sai, who was looking back, were eyeing each other strangely, as if speaking a hidden language while diverting their eyes in the two girls' direction who in turn smiled at them.

That was not all. For some reason, Hinata had been feeling itchy around Sai earlier and now, the thirst was even stronger now that Kin and Karin were in the classroom. But it was a different itch. It was like something she knew but could not get her mind to decipher it and she bit her tongue in frustration at the feeling, not even remotely knowing the two new students at the back of the class and she would see each other more often than she thought.

There was something else wrong as well. There was this strong sensation she was feeling that made her physically inch since she got to school. She scratched her neck and tried to focus on what Kakashi- sensei was trying to corrupt the pupils' minds with.

* * *

Sasuke wondered if there was ever a time since the whole vampire issue when his life was normal and he could just not be pissed for some reason. That was not likely to happen though, because, here in the classroom were two more vampires and most likely, Hinata would notice. Even more, if they were there, that meant that Itachi was also at school. Sasuke would not know until lunch time. So what if they were both in the same house? Itachi was very mysterious and could slip past anyone's vision and was already out of the house when he woke up anyway.

Sai was probably of the same view, because he was tenser than Sasuke knew which could only mean that Itachi's presence was in the building. What would he do if he saw Hinata? But from what he told him last night, she was forbidden- whatever that meant, so maybe it would not be a problem

Sasuke leaned back. He was reading into this situation too much so he decided to listen to what Kakashi-sensei was saying.

It was now lunch time and everyone was getting to know the transfers. Sasuke did not need to; he knew them already and they were now living at his house. He sighed just thinking about going to the bathroom that morning, only to find it stringed with all types of underwear hanging from the mirror and anywhere else the two girls could get them.

Not that this went unnoticed by the only oblivious person in the building. Naruto was visibly shaken by Itachi already, but the sight of two unnatural looking people in the house when he woke up. Let's just say walking in on strangers is not a good way to start the day.

Also, for some strange reason, it seemed as though Sai and Kin were avoiding each other.

"So where are you from?" asked Ino, who was nearest to the two girls. Hinata was also there and she looked awful twitching like she was as she drank water. Being near Ino was causing her react as well.

"We're from the outskirts of Konoha," said Karin, tossing her hair. In this simple action, she managed to catch the eye of almost every male that had her in their sight. "We came here fro a… special reunion of sorts."

Ino believed it and so did the others and they continued talking and all the while Kin and Karin were casting knowing looks to each other as they watched Hinata. She seemed to have caught a new habit somehow of scratching her neck and it only started today as far as Sasuke could tell. Maybe those two knew about it. Sai looked as though he realized for he was even more pale than usual and seemed upset.

"Sasuke."

Great, just who he loved to see.

The entire table went silent at the sound of Itachi's voice, except for Kin and Karin who were now talking to Sai who had also been unaffected by Itachi's presence.

Sasuke turned around. "Nani?"

He saw his brother's eyes flash the faintest of red as he glanced at Hinata who was now scratching the one spot on her neck even more.

"I would like to talk to you if you don't mind," said Itachi, a smirk gracing his features now, and walked away.

Sasuke sighed and got up from his seat. "I'll be back," he said, leaving the others now talking once again about the mysterious person.

Sasuke followed Itachi to the lockers where lots of persons were when he got to his brother.

"Why do you want to talk to me? Why here with all of these people?" asked Sasuke, rolling his eyes. Itachi was probably the only person to bring out this behavior in him.

"I need you to do something for me," said Itachi, leaning on the locker he was next to. "Plus, it's best to talk in a crowded area, or have you still no brain?"

"Whatever," said Sasuke. He was not even in the mood to argue. "What do you want? Can't you get anything you want as it is? What do you need me for?"

Itachi smirked once more. "It's true I can have almost anything I want. But how can I if it's not allowed?"

Sasuke was stunned. He was talking about Hinata. "I won't help you," he said firmly.

"Because you want her?"

Sasuke nearly choked. "I d-don't know what you're talking about," said Sasuke feebly. He damned himself for stammering.

"Ah. I see you are lying obviously but how can you win against me or even Sai when you are not one of us? Just do this one thing and I may strike you a deal."

Was he seriously doing this? Did Itachi think he was so easy to manipulate?

"I'm not six years old anymore," said Sasuke sighing. "Ask Karin or Kin to do it. Kami knows they'd kill for you."

"I just want to spare her," said Itachi, looking away at the numerous students passing by them, giving Itachi looks. "I know you've seen how she's been acting since my feet touched the school grounds."

"Spare her from what?"

"Never you mind," said Itachi quickly, catching Sasuke off guard. "You just missed your opportunity, little brother."

And he walked away in the direction of the upper corridors, leaving Sasuke to walk back to the table with his friends to be bombarded with questions.

* * *

The feeling had stopped, but Hinata could not for the life of her understand why she suddenly felt so hungry. It was not thirst this time, it was pure hunger that she could not understand and her next was still itching. '_What's going on with me?' _she thought.

"Here, Hinata-chan," said Sai and handed over a box of juice to her.

"Ano…thanks," she said sheepishly and popped the opening with the straw.

"It will taste better right now," said Sai, smiling and Hinata took a sip and to her surprise, it was the best thing she had tasted in a long time.

She closed her eyes momentarily enjoying the juice. "You're right," said Hinata. "My thirst is definitely better n-"

Hinata caught herself just before she finished. Karin and Kin looked her way and so did Sasuke.

"Hina-chan!"

Naruto saved Hinata just in time as he squeezed between Ino to sit next to her. Ino, not in the mood to complain because she was busy being nosy, scooted over to allow him in. Hinata mentally thanked Naruto for saving her from two discomforts.

The time with Naruto was cut short when Konohamaru and his friends invited to their table but he promised to talk to Hinata in Biology class later that day.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Sasuke mind was completely occupied with what his brother had said. He was dropping all sorts of remarks to him without explaining them and then walking away, telling him not to worry about it, as if knowing that Sasuke would only want to know more.

It was now Biology class with only another period to go to the bell and Sasuke was absolutely sickened by having to watch Naruto and Hinata working together. It was driving him crazy and he was sure that Sai was of the same opinion.

It was not that they were talking, but the little gestures and blushes were enough for him to know that by now, the two were not bothered by the rule.

Karin and Kin had made friends with Ino and Sakura but could not talk because Orochimaru was not a fan of having anyone chatting in his class.

"There will be a change as of now," said Orochimaru from his desk and all the students looked in his direction. "Not a major one, but our two new students need someone to help them with their work since they were not here from the start. Therefore, from now on Kin will pair with Hinata and Karin will pair with Naruto."

* * *

'_What?!' _thought Hinata. This was not good. Not that she would not like to be Kin's friend or whatever, but couldn't she be selfish just once?

Orochimaru-sensei made Naruto switch and now Kin was coming to sit next to her. It was enough that she was feeling strange the entire day since the two girls and who she supposed was Sasuke older brother came, but now one of them would have to sit next to her for who knows how long.

"Hi," said Kin, smiling at Hinata.

Hinata smiled back, trying not to make it look strained. "Hi."

And so the class continued in silence until Kin decided to speak.

"Hinata," Kin whispered, barely moving her mouth.

"Yes?" said Hinata through her teeth. She was still holding a silent grudge against Kin.

"Let's be friends. I know that Naruto is your boyfriend and all, but you see him all the time, right? Plus, we're going to be partners for awhile and after today, you'll be seeing a lot more of Karin and me."

Hinata thought about what Kin had just said. 'After today?' What did she mean by that? Hinata looked at her skeptically.

"What? Don't act like you don't know. You can sense it I'm sure," said Kin, giving Hinata a knowing look. "You know what we are."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about," said Hinata coolly. Inside, Hinata's mind was reeling. She was panicking beyond belief as she thought of the possibility that Kin and Karin were one of her kind and she was not alone. But if that was so, that meant that Sasuke's brother would also be one and maybe he told Sai as well. So many thoughts ran through her head at once, Hinata felt dizzy.

"It's ok. You don't have to be so obvious about it," said Kin, cutting into her thoughts. "I'm guessing this is you first half moon, right?"

Hinata never got to answer however, because their little chat was cut short by Orochimaru-sensei and there was a tense silence for the rest of the period.

As soon as the bell rang, Hinata jumped out of her seat and got out of the classroom as fast as her feet would carry her. She could feel eyes on her back the entire way to her locker, but Hinata had to move quickly.

"Hina-chan!"

Hinata did not register the voice calling her. She just had to get home as soon as possible and have Neji and Hanabi tie her up until dawn.

Others knew what she was. People would call her a freak for the rest of her time at school.

She was sharply spun around to face the voice of the person who had called for her.

"What's wrong?" asked Naruto. "I'm kinda annoyed with Oro-sensei for switching us and that Karin girl was all twitchy and stuff, but we still have tonight, right?"

Hinata bit her lip frustrated with the situation.

"I can't go out tonight, Naruto-kun," said Hinata, lowly.

"How come?" asked Naruto confused, but Hinata never really got to answer because she was tugged away.

"Wha-"

It was then that she saw it was Karin and Kin dragging her away. What were they doing? She barely knew them.

Naruto ran alongside them. "You know you could have simply asked," said Naruto as they made their way towards the front of the school.

"What do you think you're doing?!" asked Hinata furiously.

"Hey!"

The party of four stopped to see Hanabi running towards them. "Where are you going?" asked Hanabi, looking Kin and Karin up and down.

"She's sleeping over with us tonight!" said Karin, quickly. "Right Hina-chan?"

"I-I," Hinata's brain could not even function properly enough for her to talk.

"Exactly," said Kin, happily. "She's needs to be with girls like us."

Hanabi's eyes opened as far as they would go and she looked at Hinata who had her head down. "Oh yeah! I'll tell Neji."

And she walked off towards the car park.

Hinata's mind finally kicked in. "Does she-"

"Yes, she knows that we are your friends now," said Karin quickly, darting her eyes over to Naruto, who was staring at them blankly, until he caught sight of something and looking around, three girls saw it was Sai, Sasuke and his brother. Hinata instantly shivered. What was going on with her today?

When the three boys came up to them, Hinata had no choice but to free herself of Kin and Karin's grip and scratched her neck in the one spot that was now causing her to twitch.

"Let's go home," said Naruto, walking very quickly away and leaving the others.

"He is so blind," said Karin, grinning.

"You know," started Hinata, catching everyone's attention. "Why am I sleeping over with you two girls who I barely know? And why did my sister agree with you? What did you tell her?" she finished, scratching her neck even more, and she noticed Itachi took a step back.

There was silence for awhile at the school entrance, when Kin spoke at last. The boys were being very quiet Hinata noticed.

"I swear Naruto must have rubbed off on you," said Kin, slapping her forehead.

"Hey!" snapped Karin.

"Whatever. I'm going to spell it out for you right now," said Kin, ignoring Karin. "We are vampires just like you and we can't have you losing control. The real reason why we came to this school was for you. Sai told me about you and said that you were newly awakened and there are no other females around Konoha for half moon so we came. Sasuke asked Karin to come here as well and Itachi came as well. You need to be with your kind tonight and I know that's this is all a bit fast for you but that's how it is so deal with it. Oh and your little sister caught Karin in the bathroom taking her wrist because… well I don't know how she knew, but she caught on a lot faster than you did."

Hinata was not sure how Kin said all of that at once, but she was sure the girl had a good set of lungs. But that was not the issue at that moment; she was processing the content of the girl's rant.

"Wha-"

But once again, she was dragged away but not by Kin or Karin but by Sasuke.

Hinata was now driving to Kami-knows-where in Sasuke's car while his brother drove the other car behind them. She did not find out the name of his brother yet, but that was not the problem right now. She was in shock. How could something like this happen so fast?

"You know," said Sasuke, not taking his eyes off the road. "It was kinda hard _not _to notice something was wrong with you today. Maybe Kin or Karin can help you when we get home."

"When you get home?" said Hinata, surprising herself at how fast she had said it. "You mean they live with you?"

"Yeah, and let me tell you, it's a pain having them around, especially Karin because she's just like Sakura. That's when her taste doesn't act up though."

"Are you one of us?" asked Hinata. He seemed too cool with the whole idea not to be a vampire himself.

"No. I'm the second born, or haven't you noticed Itachi's my brother?" he answered. "My life is surrounded by the likes of your kind though."

"How did you get so used to it?"

Sasuke smiled a little. "I've gotten used to it. It's the vampires who take a while to adjust."

He was just taking the whole thing in stride, while Hinata was in the backseat trying to dig a hole in her neck.

"Do you know why I'm itching?" '_I can't believe I just asked that.' _thought Hinata as she bit her tongue.

She noticed Sasuke face fell completely and wondered why. It only be something bad.

"It's because of my brother, Itachi," said Sasuke. "He's a stage three vampire."

Hinata's breath caught in her throat. Somehow, she felt a jolt as though she was falling. And scratched her neck even more, trying not to notice her itch from being around Sasuke as well.

Tonight was going to be an interesting night.

* * *

_**Well here is the lengthened version of chapter 11. I'm going through a block, can you believe it? If you have any ideas for half moon, just let me know. After all, this fic is for your pleasure and should have what you want. **_

_**As usual, if you have not read **_**Princess Hina** _**yet, please do.**_

_**Until tomorrow…**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**Please leave a note, although the chappie's not long.**_

* * *


	12. Half Moon

**_Well here we are! The lengthened Chapter 12! Remember to read Princess Hina if you have not done so yet and also, I need 200 reviews for that fic so I can start my new fic. _**

**_I have to take this time to thank all my reviewers, especially the ones who make me laugh and leave me with a broad grin for the entire day. I think this chapter should be a bit exciting and I did this for you guys since you keep me going._**

**_R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Half Moon**

"Stay here," said Sasuke, looking at Hinata who was in the back. They had reached his house and looking back quickly, Hinata saw the other car Itachi was driving and felt an instant prickle again. "We don't want Naruto seeing you."

"Why not?" asked Hinata, confused.

Sasuke sighed, making Hinata feel as though she was the dumbest person to walk the earth. She wondered how Naruto put up with it.

"He doesn't know what you and the others are and we don't want him to," said Sasuke. "Just lay there until we knock him out, ok?"

"Knock him out?!"

"Yes. We won't hurt him. It's better this way and you won't have to be cooped up in a bedroom until twelve."

And Hinata lay flat in the back seat until Sasuke gave the clear.

It was not everyday a person was in a house of vampires, but here was Hinata scratching away at her neck in Karin's room with Kin. The others were in their own rooms and Itachi was out of the house she heard.

"So what will happen to me tonight?" asked Hinata, who was sitting at the edge of the bed.

"Have you ever bitten someone, Hinata?" asked Kin, who was lying on the bed. Karin was sitting at the computer.

Hinata was nervous. Why would she ask such a question?

"I've bitten my cousin numerous times before."

"No, we mean like _really _biting someone," said Karin looking her way.

"No," said Hinata biting her lip nervously. "Will I have to bite someone tonight?"

The two girls smiled at her. "Yes you will have to bite someone," said Kin. "But not tonight, that's for full moon."

Hinata raised an eyebrow.

"What?" asked Kin, laughing. "You didn't know you bite someone on full moon? Who were you raised by? Humans?"

The two girls laughed lightly, while Hinata remained quiet. Kin stopped suddenly.

"You _were _raised by humans? Oh my gosh! You've been in the dark too long. No wonder you've never even bitten anyone yet. I knew you were pure." She gave Hinata a sad look but it soon brightened. "Do you know what your taste is yet?"

"I'm not really sure," said Hinata remembering her first talk with Neji. "But my cousin says that he's my taste."

"Well then you attracted to brunettes," chirped Kin. "Just like me!"

Karin rolled hr eyes. "Great another one."

"But ano… When I'm around my best friend, I sometimes have the same feeling although it's not as strong," said Hinata unsurely.

"Oh, that's because your taste in males is the opposite in your taste for females," said Kin; Karin was chatting she supposed. "If you bite a female, she'll be blond or have light brown hair which is the same for me."

"And what about you?" asked Hinata, directing the question to Karin.

"Who, me? I like blond males. Especially the ones with blue eyes," said Karin. "But as for human taste, I usually crush on the opposite."

Hinata understood now, but she became wary. "So that means although my taste is dark hair, I'll be naturally interested in the opposite?"

The two girls nodded and Karin went back to staring at the computer screen.

Another question popped into Hinata's mind. "What will happen to me tonight?"

"That's why we brought you here," said Kin. "It's your first half moon so you have certain…needs to attend to and you can't do that at home."

Hinata was getting tired of cat and mouse and fishing for answers. "What does that mean?"

Karin turned around just then. "Since we have seen quite a few half moons," she said. "We can go on for three half moons without need of losing control. I've had my share last half moon so I don't need it tonight. Karin's new just like you but she's been through one already. You'll know exactly what we mean when the time comes."

* * *

Sasuke could not believe it. Since when did his luck get so bad? At least she would not remember what will happen since it would be the first time, but that did not make him feel any bett5er at all.

He was in his room and Sai was there. Sai was unusually happy and Sasuke couldn't blame him. Naruto was knocked out in his room without even knowing it.

"Are you excited?" asked Sasuke, who was lying on his bed, Sai next to him with his arms behind his head.

"We've done it before," said Sai calmly. "Why?"

"What was it like?"

"It's hard to explain, but it's really good," said Sai, smiling and looking at Sasuke. "Would you like to experience it sometime?"

Sasuke bit his lip. "Maybe, I've always wondered what it would be like."

"It's painful when you're at the receiving end at first, but after that there's nothing better," said Sai, a broader smile spreading across his face. "When you are the one doing it, it's blissful."

Sasuke thought about what Sai had said. Should he take the chance?

"Good luck tonight," he said instead of what he really wanted to say. "I hope you have fun."

"Oh it will be," said Sai as he sighed.

* * *

Hinata had no idea how she had fallen asleep, but she woke up in a curled up position on Karin's bed between the two and at the same moment, Kin stirred as well.

She was feeling the hunger again as she and Kin sat up wordlessly as though worked with a remote and got up out of bed; Karin had just got up and looked over at the clock that Hinata never took notice of.

"Oh, is it time already?" she asked, rubbing her eyes and yawning openly. "Well have fun you two, I'm going back to sleep." And with that, she flopped back into Kin's bed and pulled the covers over herself.

"What do I do?" asked Hinata unsure of where her feet were taking her as she walked towards the door.

"You'll see."

* * *

Sasuke felt his bed tilt his way as Sai got up to go to his room and looked up at the clock, seeing it was a few minutes to midnight.

He was informed on what would happen and was not very happy with the idea, but he could not do anything to stop it. He would have to make the deal with Itachi before the next half moon.

He watched Sai walked straight for the door without even looking back and shut the door behind him and Sasuke knew from experience not to follow a vampire so he just settled back into his sheets and willed the night to pass quickly.

Hinata and Kin walked along the hallway and came to two doors on either side of the hallway.

* * *

Hinata stood outside one and Kin outside the other. Hinata was moving on pure impulse but watched Kin to see what she would do next and saw that she was now turning the doorknob.

As soon as she opened the door, Hinata was hit with pure hunger but it was gone as soon as Kin walked inside and closed the door afterwards.

Just then, Hinata felt the sensation creep up on her as she felt the force come closer to the door and her neck itched again but she refused to scratch it. The energy behind the door was now so strong she was sure the wood of the door was the only thing stopping her from what she was unsure of.

The door swung open and Hinata came face to face with Itachi.

Hinata felt the itch increase on her neck and had no choice but to reach to rub it, but her hands were pulled away by his own and Hinata felt a jolt of electricity course through her veins upon contact and did not register the hands leading her inside the dark room.

Every step back Itachi made, Hinata took a step forward automatically, completely entranced by his glowing crimson eyes before her and he seemed just as drawn in by her eyes as well.

Hinata's thirst was working overdrive and the newly found hunger was deciding that she stay right where she was and there would no turning back.

No words were needed. Hinata knew what would happen by pure instinct and she trembled with anticipation, awaiting the inevitable.

Itachi switched places, causing Hinata to step back instead; her eyes never looking away from the pools of blood that were Itachi's until her feet bumped on the edge of the bed and Hinata tripped and fell into the soft covers with a small gasp and Itachi soon followed suit, hovering over her.

Hinata's itch reacted quickly from the close proximity of the other being.

Unlike the encounter with her Neji, Hinata did not lose herself yet. She was oddly expecting it and that caused her neck to itch even more. Itachi took hold of her hand and leaned towards her neck.

Hinata felt her fangs lengthen as she felt Itachi's teeth graze her neck, gently nipping the flesh and Hinata reached up to embrace him and bring him closer.

She arched into him and felt him tense but she losing control of her senses.

Her raked her tongue over her teeth and felt the cut she created and her senses heightened even more at the taste of her blood and knew Itachi smelled it as well because he bit his lip, drawing his own as well trying not to lose it as he leaned in for a kiss.

The taste of new blood was more than Hinata could handle and she was thrown over the edge of her sanity as she bit Itachi's lips and sucked the blood there. The way they were going, there would be definite bruises in the morning.

Hinata's neck was itching even more now and she bit harshly on Itachi's lip to which he hissed out in pain and pulled away a fraction before repaying her and dragged his teeth down her jaw line to her neck again, kissing the vein beneath her skin she wished her would just sink his teeth into.

She heard him take a deep breath, taking in her scent and then began suckling the very spot that had been driving her crazy since she sensed him the first time and Hinata's breath hitched in her throat as she sighed into the blissful sensation wondering if this was how Neji felt when she had first attempted to bite him.

The thought was shoved from her mind as Itachi's fangs pricked her skin.

The panic rose in Hinata for the first time and her breathing became erratic as she tried to control her feelings. She felt Itachi smile against her skin.

"It'll only hurt for a little while," he said, and Hinata nodded her approval.

No sooner had she done that, she felt the flesh of her neck rip as her vein was invaded by Itachi's fangs and Hinata bit her tongue to smother the cry of pain as she felt the blood drain from her.

Hinata winced as Itachi suckled on the wound he had inflicted fiercely then to lick the bite marks as he straddled her, Hinata feeling the obvious pleasure he was experiencing and gasped.

The stinging of the bite was ebbing away to leave the appetite for more, and Hinata tried not to focus on the dance the butterflies in her stomach were performing but failed as she tilted herself upwards to melt into him as he drained her neck.

Hinata felt drowsy from the loss of blood and willed her eyes to stay open until Itachi had his fill and soon enough, he rolled off as he tried to get his breathing back under control and Hinata struggled to do the same.

Looking at him, Hinata blushed to see his lips were still coated with blood as if he was too tired to lick it off and Hinata, not being able to resist fresh blood, kissed him, biting down to drag out even more and fell back tiredly as she felt Itachi wrap his arms around her before the two fell asleep.

* * *

Hinata woke up with the dawn as usual, feeling disoriented. Where was she anyways?

She looked around to see she was not in her bedroom, but the one she had been told was hers for the using while she was at the Uchiha's.

Feeling weight on her waist and chest, Hinata struggled to see what was holding her down to see Karin snuggled up beside her, now opening her eyes so Hinata guessed she was not the only vampire who woke up at dawn.

"What are you doing in my bed?" asked Hinata, scooting away.

Karin yawed and then hugged her. "I sleep with Kin sometimes but she's still with Sai so I came with you. Which brings me to ask why you're here anyways?"

"I think Itachi brought me here after I fell asleep," said Hinata, rubbing her eyes and moving to get off the bed. "Where's the bathroom?"

Karin told Hinata where one of the bathrooms was and where to get a toothbrush and soap before getting up herself to go to her own room and Hinata had a bath and dressed in some clothes that Kin had left her although they were a little too tight.

Hinata went downstairs to the kitchen while rubbing the sore spot on her neck, remembering her encounter with Itachi and blushed as she looked in the fridge for something to drink.

Her eyes widened at what she saw.

They was a whole lot of food she knew no one in the house would eat and she could only assume it was to save being found out by anyone who visited the house. Anything she could think of was there stocked and over fifteen boxes of nothing but tangy unsweetened juices were there as well.

To tell the truth, it looked no different to her own, but she thought since the persons who were now living in her house were what they were, they would have something bizarre like packets of blood in there.

She laughed at the thought as she took out juice.

"If you're looking for packets of blood, there're in the basement in a cooler," said Karin behind her, laughing.

Hinata giggled at the joke.

"What? You think I'm joking?" asked Karin as she held up exactly what Hinata was thinking about. A Ziploc bag of sorts with blood.

Hinata immediately paled at the sight.

"You really need to get out more," said Karin as she held the tip of the bag and cut it, draining the contents into a large mug. She sat down facing Hinata and sipped from her mug as though she was drinking coffee.

Hinata could only watch.

"Do you want some?" asked Karin offering her the mug.

"N-no thank you," said Hinata. It was one thing to bite someone, but drinking it like that made her stomach churn.

Karin then took a big gulp and sighed. "Blonds are so delicious," she said and Hinata took a closer look at the stained Ziploc in the garbage from where she was and indeed the label said 'blond.'

She just hoped Naruto would be safe around this one.

* * *

It was late evening and everyone except Itachi was now sitting in the living room trying to decide what to watch. Sasuke was once again in a foul mood. Hinata was wrapped up in Naruto's arms, who had woken up and was told that Hinata had come to visit since their date had been broken.

Last night, she was all under Itachi, but it had relieved him that nothing drastic happened. Maybe it was because she was 'off limits.'

He had no time to think about that right now, because the girls had out ruled the boys- not that Sai really cared because he was just as close to Kin as Naruto was to Hinata (he figured they definitely were not avoiding each other anymore) and the dumb blond could not decide what he wanted to watch anyway- so they were all watching Bambi.

Sasuke sighed, completely irritated that he had to watch such a movie. Karin brought the popcorn and soon they were all settled in front of the screen.

"Mama!"

There was a loud sniff that broke the silence of the room as Bambi searched for his mother after the gun had sounded.

Sasuke craned his neck to see Naruto's eyes brimmed with tears. _'The idiot,' _he thought, but stopped when he saw Hinata swipe her rather tight sleeve against her cheek. Kin was the same way but Karin face was soaked with tears that she did not bother to wipe away.

Naruto excused himself, untangling his arms from around Hinata's shoulders and shortly after there were loud sniffs and the sound of blowing a nose in the other room.

The four in the room looked at each other knowingly and smiled as Naruto came in again with his eyes puffy and curled up with Hinata once more, reaching for more popcorn trying to feign his moment of sorrow. He looked around at noticing the eyes staring at him. "What?" he asked. "I'm allergic to popcorn," he lied as he munched on the accused snacks.

Sasuke had no idea how he had managed to soften up enough to become best friends with the nut case.

* * *

Hinata had a wonderful time over at the Uchiha's, but had to return home before it got too late. Neji had picked her up and so, here she was in her room. She was still tired and decided to go to sleep early for once after being drained earlier that morning.

She could not get the thoughts about it out of her head. She would not get to feel that again for at least three more months. She though about how it would feel to bite someone the way Itachi had bitten her and felt her cheeks burn. Who would she bite? Maybe since Itachi bite her, she had to return the favor. What if she ended up biting someone else?

Nothing happened to her, but what if she bit someone who was not of her kind?

Hinata pushed the thoughts from her mind as she heard a knock on her door. She sat up on her bed. "Come in," she offered and the door opened showing Neji and Hanabi and the latter ran and bounded onto the bed, knocking the wind from her older sister's lings.

Neji walked over and sat on that bed.

"So what happened, Onee-chan?" asked Hanabi. "Did you have to suck someone's blood until they became as dry as a biscuit?"

"Hanabi, don't be silly." Neji had beaten Hinata to the punch.

"No Hanabi," said Hinata with a snicker and told them 'selected' parts of her experience.

It would soon be full moon, but Hinata had time to relax and enjoy her family and soon the three of them were curled up in Hinata's room and she slept thirst free for the first time in months since her awakening.

Of course it would not last long, but as Hinata slept, she felt fully quenched although she had not consumed blood for the day.

* * *

**_Another chapter finished. I liked this one so I hope you liked it too. I tried to keep this under 'T' and softened it up with a teeny bit of humor so I don't think this fic should be thrown into the higher rating yet. _**

**_Again, if you have not read Princess Hina yet, please do and be sure to review._**

**_So until later this week…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	13. Hinata's buttons

**_Here is the 13th chappie! As I told you, I have a cold so I'm not all that great right now. I'll try my best though, so sit back and enjoy.Excuse any errors. _**

**_R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Hinata's buttons**

It was Monday once again and Hinata felt well rested. She took her wrist and Neji's for good measure, even though it seemed strange. Her thirst was acting up again and she felt it was necessary.

Hanabi had finally stopped asking her so many questions and so the drive to school was a silent one. When they got there, Hanabi parted to go to her own class, leaving Neji and Hinata to go to their own as well and from there, Neji went to talk to his friends while Hinata went in the direction of Ino, who was bickering with Sakura as was their daily routine.

"I saw the way you looked at him, you better stay away," said Ino to Sakura angrily.

"Says who?" said Sakura, hands on her hips.

"I don't have to answer to a person whose hair color came out of a bottle!"

"How dare you!" Sakura squealed. "This is my natural hair color, you hag!"

"Hi guys," said Hinata, cutting into the argument.

Ino stopped and lunged at Hinata, nearly knocking her on the floor. "Hinata, where were you all weekend? You weren't online and when I called for you, you weren't there."

"I… visited some friends of mine," said Hinata, pushing out of the other girl's death grip. The thirst was definitely back.

Sakura stalked away after being ignored, saying she was going to talk to Naruto or Sai and left the two girls there.

"You look kinda drained though, Hinata," said Ino, pulling at Hinata's cheeks.

_'You have no idea,'_ thought Hinata. "I have a rough weekend at first, but I'm great now."

* * *

The day was swinging by quickly and Sasuke was glad. After lunch, the time flew by and Sasuke was glad. He was his usual moody self, but he was living.

The bell to signal the end of the day rang and Sasuke walked out of the classroom with the others. He watched Hinata talking to Ino as she came his way and his heart skipped a beat. He knew he should not have been feeling anything for her. But he liked her before Naruto did, so did he not have the right to?

What he saw behind the two girls caught his interest though. Kin and Sakura were talking among themselves as though they were best friends. It was not strange to see it since they seemed to have the same interests- whatever those were- but the two were absolutely chummy. He just hoped Karin would not tell her about their secrets.

Kin and Sai were behind them talking as well. During the day, the word got out that they were together and Sakura was not too happy about it, but lately, she was occupied with something else and Sasuke had no idea what- not that he cared but whatever or whoever she had her sights set on, had better be strong.

Neji and Hanabi said their parting words and left early after Neji had packed up his belongings while Hanabi chatted with her sister, then they left.

Sasuke was so engrossed in his thoughts, he had not even heard Naruto shouting for him, and that was saying something.

"Nani?" asked Sasuke, his ears now ringing.

"Are you still helping Hinata with her math today?" asked Naruto, looking back at his girlfriend, who was now talking with Karin since Sakura and Ino had gone home now. No one wasted time getting away from school if they could help it.

"Don't I help her every week?" Sasuke asked irritated. The same time Itachi was seen walking down their corridor towards them. Sasuke held back a smirk as he saw Naruto as well as the few persons on the corridor shiver.

Really, those people needed to get a grip on themselves.

Itachi stopped in front of him and Naruto. "Are you going home or are you going to tutor Hinata?" he asked.

"I'm staying behind," said Sasuke. "I'll call you when I'm done."

"Who told you I'm picking you up?"

"You don't have to be that way," huffed Sasuke. "Don't you have enough heart to pick me up- don't even answer that."

Itachi smirked and nodded. "I'll pick you up." And turned around heading towards the entrance of the school.

"Well I gotta go," said Naruto and turned away as well but to go to Hinata to tell her goodbye.

Sasuke hated to see the little pecks on the cheek and the holding of hands. It made him sick! He could hear the two whispering.

"Well I gotta now, Hina-chan."

"Yeah?"

"I'll miss you. That's what you wanted to hear, wasn't it? You little extortionist."

"I'll miss you too."

Sasuke turned his face away from them as they laughed. He couldn't bare it.

"Hey Sasuke."

He turned around to see Naruto smirking at him. "Nani?"

"How about I pick you up?" asked Naruto. He was taking one of the cars out illegally sometimes around the block the past few days and thought he was a real hotshot now that yesterday, he had not adorned the car in dents like in the past.

"I'd rather walk home on my knees," said Sasuke coolly, causing a fit of laughter from Hinata. He did not find it funny though because there was no way he would sit in the passenger seat with a pedal-happy Naruto who thought riding on bumper cars was enough practice to drive on the streets.

Naruto pouted and gave Hinata one last kiss before he turned away.

He watched as the others said goodbye to her as well and went in the same direction the Itachi had not too long gone in, leaving the two alone.

Sasuke took his text book from his locker and some blank papers as Hinata put up her books and they both walked into their classroom, leaving the door open.

It was quiet, the way Sasuke liked it. His home was never quiet now. Naruto was always bouncing off the walls, Karin was always trying to seduce him and Sasuke really did not want to think about the noises that came from Sai or Kin's rooms.

Sasuke sat on one side of the sensei's desk, while Hinata sat on the other side. They agreed it was better this way and it would prevent her thirst acting abnormally.

He flipped the pages to what they had been doing in class. He had started doing this since he thought it to e more effective to go over what had been done in class to make sure that Hinata understood. She was so clueless to the subject, it made Sasuke laugh to himself.

"I still don't get it," Hinata whined, sprawling her hands across the table. They accidentally brushed Sasuke's causing him to blush. Sasuke's eyes widened at the tingly feeling in his cheeks. Since when did he blush?

"Sorry," Hinata quickly; she pulled her hands quickly as if burned. Sasuke saw her chewing her tongue and knew it was from the thirst and pulled back as well.

"It's ok. Have you finished the question yet?" he asked, turning the page once more to finish the exercise. In doing this, they would be doing their homework as well.

"No, this is really hard," Hinata pouted. Sasuke had to merit himself for being the person to see her this way; frustrated. Why? Because he was there to make it better. He liked at the end of the lesson when she understood what he said and hugged him or kissed him quickly on his cheek. It made him tolerate she was with Naruto because he was practically getting the same treatment.

"No it's not; I'll go over it again," said Sasuke in his most comforting tone.

"Thanks so much, Sasuke," said Hinata grinning. He was sure Naruto was rubbing off on her.

Sasuke talked her through the formula again and soon she was able to complete most of the questions without asking him for too much help.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke tumbled out of his mind to look at Hinata, who was smiling proudly.

"I did it, Sasuke! I finished a whole five questions without asking you for help," she said happily.

"That's good," said Sasuke, forcing himself not to smile as well, but it was becoming really hard when he was around Hinata. She was really excited. "You only have one more to do right?"

Hinata nodded and started on the last question and Sasuke watched her. The way she looked so concentrated, it made her eyes gleam almost like when she was thirsty. It made him want to know what it felt like.

She suddenly jumped up from her chair, startling Sasuke. She ran around the desk and nearly strangled him, sending a jolt of electricity to course through them both. Hinata because of what she was, Sasuke because of the close proximity.

"All done! Thanks so much, Sasuke," said Hinata excitedly.

"Thanks, Hin-"

Sasuke turned his head only to find her lips planted on his own and the sensation was unlike anything he ever experienced. He could feel her thirst pulsing through her lips as neither of them moved for over five or so seconds before he caught himself and pulled away, eyes as wide as Hinata's, only hers were glazing over.

Facing the door, he saw something flicker out of his line of vision but he ignored it as he saw Hinata's eyes drifting towards his neck. He could not let her get too far.

He reached over and tapped her wrist, seeing her eyes flare back to life and as soon as she did, her hand flew to cover her mouth in shock.

"Gomen!" Hinata said panicked. "Thank you for stopping me."

"It's fine, I didn't mind," said Sasuke.

Hinata caught on to what he meant and blushed, then started to stammer but Sasuke stopped her.

"Let's pack up. We've finished for the day," said Sasuke and he reached into his pocket.

As he dialed home, his eyes darted across to watch as Hinata stacked the papers neatly.

_"Moshi moshi," _came the voice of Karin. It appeared that she was on the phone on the other line.

"Is Itachi around?" asked Sasuke.

_"I never knew Itachi was swinging that way,"_ said Karin through laughter.

"Karin stop playing around and tell Itachi I'm ready," Sasuke said. This was one of the reasons he disliked certain girls. They were so annoying.

_"Call him on his cell phone, I can't feel him here."_

"Fine," said Sasuke, cutting her off. He turned to Hinata to see her sitting patiently looking at the work she had done with a smile on her face. Smiling as he looked away, he dialed Itachi's number.

After he called Itachi, Sasuke walked to the desk and sat in the chair.

"So now we wait," said Sasuke. "What do you want to talk about?"

He seemed to have caught her off guard with the question and she thought awhile. "You grew up with your clan right?" she asked.

Sasuke nodded, wondering where she was going with this.

"I don't know if I have a clan," Hinata said softly. "My mother died because of Hanabi so I barely knew her before she was gone and my father is not the best when it comes to raising children; he's always away on business so I can't ask him anything. The only person I can ask about anything is Neji, but I know he can't know everything because he not of my kind."

Sasuke was surprised what his little question had done. "I see," he said. "I'm sure you have a clan as well, Hinata."

"Then why didn't they look for me; contact me somehow? Where are they?" she asked, and then she paused. "Gomen, I must sound like an idiot."

"No you don't. I'm sure I would be much worse in behavior than you if I had no clue about my clan. I'd probably be all cold and heartless," said Sasuke and Hinata started to snicker. "What?"

"Ano…sorry, but most people see you that way already," she said.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "Yeah, sure. Mock me," said Sasuke amused. "You know I'm not like that though, right?"

Hinata grinned at him. "Of course I know that you're that absolute opposite and I like you a lot because of that."

* * *

That same moment, Itachi strode through the doorway, nearly jumping Hinata out of her skin from the intense thirst and she bit her tongue quickly, somehow sensing that Itachi could smell the blood as his eyes darted to her lips before looking at his brother.

"Are you ready?" he asked and they both nodded and stood up.

Itachi waited silently as she and Sasuke went to their lockers and now they were in the car. Hinata could only assume they were going to take her home, ignoring the fact that she was so close to Itachi, who was in the driver's seat right in front of her while Sasuke sat next to him.

He started the car and pulled out of the parking space as he looked at her in the mirror, sending chills down her spine at the sight of his eyes flash garnet and she chewed her lip.

"Where do you live?" he asked calmly and Hinata told him as he drove onto to main road, glancing at her every few minutes.

Sasuke reached over and turned on the radio, creating a more comfortable atmosphere between them until they came to her street.

"This is it," said Hinata and Itachi came to a stop, looking in the mirror at her and said goodbye and so did Sasuke. Hinata smiled and hopped out of the car and said bye as well to the brothers as she shut the door and watched as Itachi drove away. She then ran to her door flinging it open.

She was met with the surprised look of her younger sister. "Isn't that a fine way attempt to take the door off its hinges," said Hanabi as she continued walking in the direction of the kitchen. Hinata followed her after shutting the door.

"I still don't get it," said Hanabi as she poured milk into a glass. "You said you don't want Neji to help you with your math because he's your taste, but isn't Sasuke your taste as well? I mean, wouldn't you bite him if you had the chance the same way?"

It was true what Hanabi said, but she had missed out on something important. "Sasuke knows how to keep me under control," said Hinata as she walked over to the sink to get some water. "I get all thirsty around Sasuke sometimes, but he stops me before anything happens."

"He can control you? So I'm guessing you have certain buttons that he can press?" asked Hanabi, her voice full of sarcasm.

Hinata drank the water before she answered. "Yes, exactly." She then walked out of the kitchen, leaving her little sister to stare after her as she went to her room.

It was true. Sasuke knew what to do in ever situation when they found themselves in a pinch. She wondered if the same could be done to enhance her thirst as well as she sat in front of the computer, turning it on.

**Beep beep beep beep beep beep**

It seemed she was sorely missed online and so Hinata chatted away, clicking on Naruto first.

**Orangepink96: hi Hina-chan**

**Candyappe7: Hi Naruto-kun**

**Poolsofblue69: hi grl**

**Candyapple7: hi**

**Poolofblue69: so how was ur lesson 2day?**

**Candyapple7: it was g8! I got all my homework done**

**Poolsofblue69: that's gd**

**Orangepink96: Sasuke and Itachi just got home. I'm telling u, Itachi gives me the creeps. I actually felt the house tense when he stepped thru the door, and that's sayin s/thing b/c I'm in my room. i didn't even have 2 c him.**

**Candyapple7: lol. Don't be silly**

* * *

**_Here's ends the chapter. As I've said, I have the cold so I'm sorry for not updating sooner and for making it so short. I hope you liked it though._**

**_I will be posting the first chapter of my new fic this week if I get the 200 reviews for at least _****Princess Hina ****_so be sure to read that if you haven't done so yet and let's try to up the reviews for this fic as well. _**

**_It really makes my day to know there are readers out there who enjoy my fics as much as I enjoy writing them._**

**_I think that's it really so until later this week or next week…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	14. Knowing Hurts

**_Here is the 14th chappie! I hope you all like it. _**

**_I've decided to merge my ideas for the new fics, so now I will be writing one fic. _**

**_It will be called _****A Happy Ending ****_and the first chapter will be posted later today or tomorrow. I've gotten the 200 reviews needed, so I'm sure you will like this new fic as much as I do. I can't wait! _**

**_Excuse any errors._**

**_R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Knowing Hurts**

"He marked you as his?" asked Hinata. It was now Thursday evening after school and Kin and Karin invited Hinata over and they were in Karin's room. Hinata was sitting on the bed between the two girls while Karin hugged her.

"Yes, he sure did," said Kin excitedly, as she reached behind her neck and unclasped the necklace there, giving it to Hinata.

It was silver but very heavy although the chain was rather thin. The pendant was a silver ruby-encrusted cross that twinkled brilliantly. Hinata had to admit it was very beautiful and was even a little jealous of the girl as she gave it back to Kin.

"Kin's lucky," said Karin who was snuggling Hinata. It seemed she was the affectionate touchy-feely type. Hinata just had to wonder how come the girl had not bitten her yet.

"Yes, you are very lucky," said Hinata truthfully as she watched the girl touch the necklace as though it was the most precious thing her eyes had ever set their pupils on. "Why did he give it to you?"

"This necklace marks me as taken," said Kin. "And as far as our kind goes, we are now as good as engaged."

Hinata sat up straight. "Engaged? But you're both so young," she said.

"Age is nothing in the vampire realm, Hinata," said Karin. "As soon as you are awakened, you already have the instinct to find a mate."

Hinata knew this. Neji had told her, but the idea still frightened her.

"I know," said Hinata, lying down. "What will the two of you do? You've barely gotten the chance to know each other."

Karin and Kin looked at her as though she had just spoken another language.

"What are you talking about?" said Kin. "I've known Sai before we even awakened. Karin and me are from other clans, but we lived near the Uchiha. We went to the same school and everything and were very close. That is until he left not too long ago to come here without even telling me and we were not on speaking terms for awhile. That all changed at half-moon though, but the point is we've known each other for a really long time."

She lay back as well, hugging Hinata as Karin was. "You know," she said. "You're really warm and soft."

"Ano…arigatou?" said Hinata as she lay basically under the two other girls. "Are necklaces the only symbols of a mate? Does it have to be ruby?"

"No," said Karin. "There are bracelets, anklets and earrings as well. Rings are only for those of pure heritage whose blood has never been marred by foreign genes, but I don't know of any of those clans even though I've heard about them.

"The piece of jewelry given is like a part of the person who gave it, so you are bonded. And no, that is her birthstone. Whenever you get a cross, it's branded with your birthstone."

Hinata understood well enough and nodded as she heard distant running up the stairs.

* * *

Sasuke and Sai were in his bedroom. Naruto was doing detention with Chouji for eating in class and was on his way home. It made Sasuke laugh to know that Naruto bluntly refused to have Itachi or Sai pick him up from school. Sasuke did not feel like driving so he had to take the bus.

He could understand him being afraid of Itachi but Sai? Somehow he seemed different though so he had to ask.

"Sai, why is Naruto acting the way he is around you?" asked Sasuke, who was lying next to Sai on the bed as usual.

"Because I'm soon going to be a stage three vampire," said Sai coolly. "Can't you tell?"

"I felt a difference," said Sasuke. "But I thought it was just you acting that way because another male vampire was in the house and you claimed Kin."

"That too, but I'll soon be ready to become a full vampire. I'm not sure when though; weeks or months from now."

Sasuke remained silent for awhile. "What do you have to do? I've only seen the beginning of Itachi's awakening." He said.

Sai chuckled and looked his way. "Trust me; I don't think anyone other than a vampire can handle it. You'd probably pass out from the sight or throw up."

Sasuke knew the feeling all too well and tried not to remember.

"That's what Itachi said when I asked him," said Sasuke sighing. "What if I wanted to become one of you?"

"You might be able to handle it, but I doubt you'd do it. It's way too painful and only a few have ever gone all the way," said Sai, propping up on his elbows. "You would have to be really willing to actually convert."

"That's only a little more than Itachi told me. Why can't you people just say what you have to do?"

"Because it's sacred. Only those willing to convert into a vampire or turn into a stage three vampire are allowed to know and that's during the process," said Sai.

Just then, Naruto's footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and he opened the door.

"Detention was so boring," Naruto said walking over to the bed and flopping into it. "Sakura was there with us too." He paused abruptly but caught himself quickly. "And guess what? I have another detention tomorrow for eating during detention dammit."

"That's because you were smart enough to merit such an honor for eating during detention which you were out in because you were eating in class, you idiot," said Sasuke stiffly.

"I was hungry!" Naruto protested. "You people in this house hardly eat but I need to survive."

Sai and Sasuke looked at each other. Could someone be so dense? Sasuke had often thought about telling Naruto the house's secret but was not so sure. The boy was so clueless, even though there was that one incident when Karin nearly bit him. It was a good thing Sasuke was home to stop her before she did and remove the memory from Naruto.

Sasuke had given Karin an earful that day, asking her how she could kiss and nearly bite someone else's boyfriend, but she said she was thirsty and it came from instinct.

Yeah sure, instinct. He'd seen the two of them rather close lately and he knew it had nothing to do with being what she was. Sasuke did not like it at all.

"Where's Hinata?" asked Naruto standing up. "She won't believe my bad luck."

"She's in Karin's room," said Sai after Sasuke hesitated, but Naruto did not notice the pause and ran through the door to find his girlfriend, leaving the two boys alone again. "You know, Sasuke," said Sai as he gazed at the wall. "Maybe one day when you choose to be one of us, you may have a chance with Hinata. Naruto can't live forever."

* * *

Neji would be soon picking up Hinata and she was watching Titanic with Naruto. It always tore her up to watch Jack sink to the bottom of the sea and she was silently crying. She felt Naruto squeeze her shoulder.

"Aww my Hina-chan's so sens- sensitive," said Naruto and his voice broke.

Hinata looked at him and saw tears rolling down his face and tried her very best not to laugh. "What about you, Naruto-kun?"

He wiped his eyes with the back of his other hand. "It's the damn popcorn. You know I'm allergic to the stuff," he said.

Hinata was just glad that he was back to his old self. Earlier that day, something was bothering him, but he must have gotten over it or forgot about it because he was back to his cheerful antics of literally bouncing off the walls.

The movie came to an end and the credits came up but neither Hinata nor Naruto moved from the position they were in. By the time the movie had ended, they had found themselves almost entwined on the couch and neither though to shift.

Hinata liked feeling this close to someone, especially the person she had liked since she first entered school. She couldn't be happier. Naruto looked her way and turned her face his way. "You still crying?" he asked and gently wiped away her tears as they still fell.

"Hai," said Hinata smiling and closed her eyes at his soft caresses.

"You're still pretty even though you cry," he whispered and Hinata could feel how close he was to her but kept her eyes closed, wondering if this was going to be her first real kiss with Naruto. Of course it couldn't be her first kiss because both she and Itachi had the pleasure of being the first. Naruto's lips brushed against her own and her heart rate quickened.

"I love you Hina-chan," he whispered.

Hinata's eyes flew open and her heart jumped to her throat, choking her. She had no idea how to respond. She liked Naruto very much, but did she love him?

"I love you too, Naruto-kun." She'd said it before her mind could process the words and she was kissing Naruto before she knew what was happening, feeling the familiar butterflies in her stomach, but from another experience she was not able to remember at the moment because her mind clicked on overdrive when she felt his hands move from her face and shoulders, moving past her waist and down her back to cup her behind.

Hinata broke the kiss.

"What's wrong Hina-chan?" Naruto asked, looking as confused as Hinata felt. She reached behind her, bringing Naruto's hands from their current abode and held them. To tell the truth, she was not sure what was wrong when she'd gone further last half moon. It felt right, but her senses were telling her otherwise.

"I…don't know," said Hinata softly.

There was a knock at the door, disrupting any future conversation between the two teenagers and Hinata got up and ran to the door, revealing her cousin and her younger sister.

"Hi, Onee-chan," chirped Hanabi.

"Are you ready to leave?" asked Neji and Hinata nodded turning to go to tell the others goodbye, but bumped into Naruto.

"Gomen," they said at the same time and smiled, forgetting the awkward moment they had shared before.

"I'll be back," Hinata said side stepping Naruto as Neji and Hanabi came in the sit on the couch to wait for her. "I'm going to say goodbye to the others."

Hinata ran up the stairs and went to open the door when she heard talking. Not being the kind of person to eavesdrop so she made to knock, only to be stopped when she heard her name as well as Naruto's.

_"…depriving the boy of what he needs,"_ came the voice of Karin.

_"What are you talking about, Karin? You can't be serious,"_ Kin's voice declared.

_"I know Naruto7 wants more than the little attention Hinata's been giving him. She's too difficult to crack."_

_"How would you know that?"_

_"I have first hand knowledge of that fact."_

_"What!"_ exclaimed Hinata. She was not heard because Kin had the same reaction.

Hinata was rooted to the spot, trying to hear more without being caught by the other girls' senses.

_"I cornered him in the bathroom the other day, because he walked in on me- I had already dressed though. He caught me unawares, so I kissed him, I never expected him to kiss me back, but he came around real good. So I reacted, although I have more control than you or Hinata, and was going to bite him but Sasuke caught us and erased his memory. Boy was Sasuke pissed at me."_

_"So am I,"_ Hinata heard Kin cut in_. "Are you crazy?! You can't go around seducing other people's boyfriends. What were you thinking? It's a good thing Naruto's memory of that is gone."_

_"His mind forgot but his body didn't,"_ said Karin. _"I see him eyeing me sometimes and we nearly kissed again last night when we were doing our project for Biology, but he ran. He said he wasn't sure if what we were about o do was right and he can't do to me what he hasn't even done to Hinata."_

_"No, Karin you can't want to go behind Hinata's back,"_ whispered Kin. _"It's not fair to her. And Naruto's not any better since he seems to be confused and wants you too."_

_"And do you think it's fair to me?"_ asked Karin. _"He's my taste for Kami's sake. You must understand."_

_"No I don't!"_ yelled Kin and Hinata agreed. How dare Karin try to take Naruto from her.

_"What Hinata doesn't know can't hurt her."_

Hinata had heard more than enough and just wanted to go home and knocked loudly, hearing gasps from inside the room.

_"Coming."_

Hinata was not sure how to deal with the situation, but she decided to leave it for now as she pasted on a smile when the door opened.

"Hi, Karin," she said sweetly. "I have to go now."

Kin showed her nervous face at the door. "Hi, Hinata. Leaving already?"

"Hai, I have to go, see you tomorrow at school," said Hinata and she left hurriedly to go to Sasuke's room to tell the two cousins goodbye because it seemed Itachi was never home.

She knocked quickly, not wanting to hear anyone else's conversations for a very long time and Sai answered to door. "Hey."

"Hi, well actually, I mean goodbye," said Hinata smiling.

"Oh, ok. See you tomorrow," said Sai. He looked back. "Sasuke said the same thing."

"Hai, bye Sasuke," she said and ran down the stairs, once again bumping into Naruto, almost knocking him flat.

"Gomen," she breathed.

They walked to the door; Neji and Hanabi had already gone back to the car. She turned around to Naruto.

"Bye," she said, forcing a smile.

He hugged her. "Bye, Hina-chan," he said and kissed her briefly.

"Yeah?"

"I'll miss you," Naruto said grinning.

"I'll miss you too, said Hinata, really meaning this time. She hugged him tightly. "I love you Hina-chan," he said.

"…I love you too, Naruto-kun," she whispered and let go, walking through the door. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

And she left with a strained smile.

--

As Hinata drove home, the chat between her two newest friends played over in her head. How could Karin do something like this to her? She had no excuse for forcing herself on Naruto. But maybe Naruto did not mind, what if he was willing? From the sound of it, he was.

It was wrong to try to get what belonged to someone else. Naruto was hers. She always imagined them living happily ever after, even though he was not one of her kind.

She liked Sai, but that did not mean se would try to take him from Kin. She liked Sasuke and had a bond with Itachi, but if they had girlfriends, she would never pry them away from another. If they were free then of course, but that was beside the point.

_'What?!'_

What was she thinking?

"Hinata, are you ok?" asked Hanabi who was next to her in the back.

"Hai, I'm fine," Hinata lied and she looked through the window at the passing scenery.

"You seem out of it," said Neji, his eyes steady on the road as they were speeding home. "Did something happen at the Uchiha's?"

"Iie, nothing happened, Neji," Hinata lied again. "You two are imagining things."

At this point, Hinata wished she was imagining what she heard earlier, but she could not shake it.

By the time she got home, she decided she would keep the secret to herself and pretend she knew nothing about Kin and Karin's little chat.

Naruto was hiding things from her and she did not like the idea too much. In fact, she hated it, she didn't like it one bit. If the incident was innocent, why did he not come to her and tell her?

She would not be angry if he had. She would understand that it was Karin's fault. But the more Hinata thought about it, the more she realized that maybe she was on the shy side when it came to affection. Would that be a reason for Naruto to find it elsewhere?

Hinata stripped to her underwear and sat at the computer, turning it on, but just stared at the screen and her eyes stung.

As minor as this was, Hinata could not help but wonder if Naruto was hiding other things from her. It felt no different with his behavior, but what if he was?

Hinata got up from the computer and made cut for the bathroom to wash her face. She looked at the mirror, seeing her swollen eyes and bitten lips and sighed.

What was she killing herself for? She did not know if it was true so she would have to trust Naruto. He was her dream come true and she wanted this relationship to work.

She went back to the computer and signed on.

**Beep**

**Orangepink96: hey wat took u so long?**

**Candyapple7: I was thinking**

**Orangepink96: bout wat?**

**Candyapple7: things**

**Orangepink96: aw don't b lyk that. U kno u can tell me n e thing Hina-chan. **

**Beep**

**Onyx20: hey**

Hinata's heart skipped a beat.

**Candyapple7: hi**

**Onyx20: u left so early. I lyk c/ing u around the house**

**Candyapple7: thx**

**Orangepink96: Hina-chan?**

**Candyapple7: I'm still here. Ano…this is s/thing I have 2 solve myself. Ok Naruto-kun?**

**Orangepink96: I'm here 4 u and I care about u a lot k? Don't 4get that.**

**Candyapple7: I kno**

_'At least I think I do.' _Thought Hinata.

**Onyx20: u sounded out of it when u were talking 2 Sai when u left earlier. How come?**

How was he able to pick that up just from talking to her?

**Candyapple7: I found out something and I'm not sure wat 2 do about it.**

**Onyx20: maybe I cud help u with w/e it is.**

Hinata was not so sure about it; they all lived in the same house. But she needed to tell someone.

**Candyapple7: u have 2 swear not 2 tell n e one.**

**Onyx20: of course I won't tell n e one, Hinata-chan**

**Candyapple7: a friend of mine overheard s/one talking about her and she said they were trying 2 get my friend's bf.**

**Onyx20: I c… **

**Candyapple7: how can s/one want 2 b with another person's bf? **

**Onyx20: I kno how that person feels, but tell ur friend 2 trust her bf.**

**Candyapple7: but she says it's really hard to do that when she heard her bf might lyk the person 2, even tho there's no change in him.**

**Onyx20: well ur friend has a problem on her hands. Just tell her 2 b careful. He may not b the most honest person then so let ur friend kno.**

**Candyapple7: I'm so afraid of losing him, Sai. **

Hinata paused. She had just made a big mistake and there was no way to take it back as she waited for Sai to reply.

**Onyx20: U? This is about u and Naruto? **

**Candyapple7: …Iie**

**Onyx20: Hinata-chan, u kno u can't lie 2 me? I'm sorry for not being there 4 u l8ly but I'll try ok?**

**Candyapple7: thx Sai**

**Onyx20: I mean it. Come 2 me n e time u need 2.**

**Candyapple7: ok**

Hinata was so busy talking to Sai, she forgot to check Naruto's messages.

**Orangepink96: u there?**

**Candyapple7: yea sorry. Wat were u saying?**

**Orangepink96: I was asking if we're still going out tomorrow. We didn't get 2 go out last wk. **

**Candyapple7: hai. I'm turning in early ok? I don't feel so well.**

**Orangepink96: sure. I hope u feel better. Gdnight Hina-chan.**

**Candyapple7: Gdnight Naruto-kun.**

**Candyapple7: I'm going to bed Sai**

**Onyx20: Ok, c u 2morrow Hinata-chan. Try 2 get some sleep.**

**Candyapple7: SIGNED OUT**

Hinata turned of the computer and thought about going down to the kitchen to get juice but decided against it as she bit her tongue. She had been worked up, she had forgotten to take her regular sip and felt the rush at the blood.

She hoped she would sleep well too as she crawled into her bed tiredly.

She just wished she had minded her own business as she had always done, because she now knew how much knowing hurt.

* * *

**_Here ends the chappie! I know it doesn't have any humor in it, but now you readers know something's cooking._**

**_As usual, if you've never read _****Princess Hina****_, please do._**

**_Until next week…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	15. Caught in the Act Twice

* * *

**_Here is the 15th chapter, I hope you like it. I'm terribly sorry for updating so late, I was just being lazy. So I'll give you an EXTRA long chapter this time! But don't get used to it unless I update late, therefore, from the next chapter will be the regular length I usually have. _**

**_Excuse any errors, because I didn't even read this over and R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Caught in the act twice**

**--**

It was Friday and Hinata was feeling much better compared to yesterday. Sure, she was still upset with what she had overheard but maybe Sai was right. She just had to trust Naruto and everything would be fine.

After her bath, Hinata went down to the kitchen where Neji and Hanabi were, eating their breakfast; she really missed that.

Taking one look at Neji and Hanabi, she knew something was up. Neji looked nervous and Hanabi was barely containing her excitement.

"What's going on?" asked Hinata as she sat down after getting her juice.

"Otou-san's coming home for a whole week!" Hanabi chirped.

She expected Hanabi to be happy when she never got the chance to see what kind of person he was since she and Neji took care of her.

"That's great Hanabi," said Hinata forcing a smile. "When is he coming?"

"Tomorrow morning," said Neji as he finished his breakfast and got up. "Let's go or we're going to be late for school."

Neji was of the same view as Hinata. Neither of them wanted to see the likes of her father. He practically killed her mother by wanting a boy and in the end, he still didn't get what he wanted all at the cost of a life. Either way, he never saw her as good enough and treasured Hanabi although Hinata knew it was probably out of guilt.

Neji was not willing to see her father for a different reason. After his father's death, Neji was taken in by her father. But he was not treated as well Hinata was. Poorly. Being given everything you ever wanted is simply not enough when all you really needed was a look of appreciation. He had hit both Neji and Hinata before, sometimes for no reason. He had hit Hanabi once as well but the little girl was so confused she never questioned it.

Hinata just wished she would not be there when he came. Staying at the Uchiha's was not even an option since he would know she was running away from him.

--

All of the thoughts she had along the way to school were forgotten as Neji pulled into the parking lot and they walked to their class, Hanabi going to her own.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she was greeted by a fight. Normally, Hinata would not have been surprised because Ino and Sakura fought all the time, but this was very unexpected. Even Neji was rooted to the spot at the sight of Karin and Sakura in the middle of a heated argument.

"…not yours!" said Karin heatedly.

Hinata really had to wonder what they were arguing over.

"… Not yours either, Karin!" Sakura yelled back at her.

Hinata walked over to Ino as Neji went to the other corner of the room. Looking around the classroom, she saw Naruto, who was looking nervous as he sat alone at his desk.

Sasuke, Gaara and the other boys, were completely in another world and as usual, Shikamaru was sleeping while Chouji sat next to him eating chips. Sai and Karin just sat alone and watched the scene between the two girls.

"What's going on with them?" asked Hinata when she got to Ino.

"It's a really long story I'd rather not tell you, Hinata," said Ino, not even looking her way.

Hinata knew that lately she was not as close to Ino as she used to be because not only did she have to keep her secret hiding, Hinata also did not want to bite her. Why would Ino not want to tell her about the argument though?

"Why can't I know?" asked Hinata and by the look on Ino's face, she knew she did not want to know the answer.

"Because the answer may affect you, Hina," said Ino finally turning to her.

Now Hinata was just plain confused because what could those two girls be fighting over that had to do with her, she did not have a clue.

"You always come to school a little before the bell rings, but some of us get here pretty early," said Ino as she grabbed Hinata's hand, causing her to wince at the contact.

Ino moved across the room with Hinata until the got through the door then Ino grabbed her by the shoulders, causing yet another jolt to go through Hinata. It was a good thing it was till morning and she not too long had blood.

"Something happened this morning between those three this morning while not many people were here," said Ino. "Meaning Naruto, Karin and Sakura."

Hinata did not like the sound of that but nodded anyway.

"Sakura told Naruto something some time ago it seems and was asking him about it this morning, "Ino started. "She started shouting at him and pulled him outside the classroom and the few who were here could hear some kind of argument between them, then all went silent."

Hinata did not even want to know what had caused them to stop talking.

"Karin ran outside and then all we heard was Karin at first then Sakura then Karin came through the door dragging Naruto inside with her with Sakura after her," Ino explained. "Sasuke got up and pushed Naruto outside while Karin and Sakura were having a fight and more yelling was heard before Sasuke walked back inside and sat down."

"What about Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata. This information did not settle very well with her and she knew something was not right.

"He stayed out for a long while before he came back in and that was a little before you got here," said Ino. She shook Hinata's shoulders.

"Something is up Hina," Ino said. "I know we've not been so close since we came back into school, but you need to watch yourself around Naruto because right now it looks like he's the new Sasuke, only worse because he might like them back."

Hinata gaped like a fish for several moments before she could talk.

"Iie, that's n-not true," said Hinata softly. "I'm the only one he likes." _'The only one he loves…'_

Ino shook her shoulders again. "Wake up, Hina-"

"Iie, I won't believe it, Ino," Hinata said firmly. "It's none of your business or anyone else's and I will handle this on my own."

Hinata shrugged Ino's hands away and left the stunned girl outside as she made a straight cut for Naruto's desk as she pulled up a chair.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, not caring about the eyes that floated in her direction. "Will you please tell me what's wrong and stop hiding things from me? What's going on?"

"I don't know, Hina­-chan," whispered Naruto tiredly. "I wish I knew so I could tell you, demo-"

Just then, Kakashi glided across the room and Hinata and the others had to go to their own seats, before he took roll call and left for the day to begin.

* * *

The day had had been so stressing. Sasuke was once again in a foul mood, not speaking to anyone, but glaring at three particular students in his class.

Naruto was really starting to piss him off with his messing with Hinata's feelings. He had allowed himself to sit back and watch him with Hinata who was the girl he liked and there was Naruto, kissing Karin at home and Sakura at school; it was getting out of hand and Sasuke had to stop it before Hinata got hurt even more.

He was sure threatening Naruto would not work for long, because sooner or later, Naruto was going to come out with it and just tell Hinata what was going on on his own.

He did not even go to the lunch table at lunch; he just sat at his desk the entire time, not wanting to see anyone and prayed for lunch to pass quickly.

"Sasuke?"

He could not believe his ears. The one person he did not want to see was calling his name. A chair scrape later, Naruto was sitting next to him with a grim expression.

"What do you want?" asked Sasuke coldly. "I told you not to talk to me."

Naruto fidgeted for awhile, a habit he must have picked up from Hinata and it only made matters worse for Sasuke as he tried to wait patiently to hear what his best friend had to say.

"I'm confused, Sasuke," Naruto said.

"How can you be? You've got the best girl in the school, what more could you possibly want, Naruto?" asked Sasuke furiously.

"You know I liked Sakura for a long time," said Naruto. "And Karin, she's so strange- I mean, so is Hinata, but Karin's really wild and-"

"I don't want to hear about his right now, Naruto," said Sasuke and he stood up. "Go talk to Konohamaru and your other little friends about this because I won't sit here while you tell me about your immature urges." And Sasuke walked out of the class, leaving a stunned Naruto as he went to his locker to get his books for the next class.

He could remember calling Itachi weeks ago to ask him questions. He was going to get his answers and fix this mess once and for all.

* * *

Hinata was not feeling well. She just knew this was the worst time for this to happen because she would have to go home. Her thirst was reacting to Ino who was sitting right in front of her and if she had not been biting her tongue so much, she would have jumped the girl long ago.

Sasuke sitting right behind her and Sai sitting next to her did not make it any better because she could plainly smell their blood and it was so tempting, Hinata had no idea how she would be able to make it to the end of the class.

Her period coming now was not a good thing because she would now have to stay home until it was over and she was still guilty about all the help Neji offered by giving his blood.

Sai looked across at her in question and she could tell he knew what was wrong and she squirmed in her chair, hoping no one would see what her problem was as she rested her head on her hands tiredly. She had to go home, but she could not bring herself to say it. If she waited too long, she would end up trying to take her own blood or someone else's and that could not happen.

Feebly she raised her hand as she still had her head down.

"Hai, Hinata?" she heard Kakashi-sensei ask.

"May I please be excused?" she asked in a weak muffled voice as tears dripped from her eyes.

Hinata heard no answer, but heard the scrape of a chair behind her and by the immense jolt of electricity she felt, it was Neji.

"Is it ok if I take her home?" she heard Neji ask.

She heard Kakashi give permission and Neji walked her to Kakashi's desk to receive the pass to go home.

"I'll send Hanabi for our things," said Neji and Hinata was thankful when she was being taken down the corridor and into the parking lot to Neji's car

Lying down in the back seat, Hinata could feel her teeth lengthening. "Neji," she called.

"It's ok, Hinata," Neji said brushing away her hair from her face. "Someone's here to watch you until I find Hanabi."

Hinata felt someone hold her up and hug her and immediately had the urge to just sink her teeth into them so she could sleep.

Hinata felt so secure in these arms she had to see the face because Neji had not held her like that since they were younger, but she could not even do that because she felt too weak.

Hinata's stomach was cramping and she really wanted Neji to hurry up so she could get home and bite the living out of him so she could feel better, as selfish as that sounded and the person gently holding her was not making it any better. She had enough; Hinata just wanted some kind of relief and the person holding her smelled so tasty, she knew she would not be able to resist.

* * *

It was so unexpected; Sasuke barely stopped Hinata from biting him. He had seen how sick Hinata was and wanted to help, following the two out of the classroom by saying he needed to go to the bathroom.

Naruto had asked to go with Neji and Hinata, but Kakashi-sensei had not permitted it since only three persons were allowed out of class at a time, even though Neji and Hinata were not coming back.

He just needed to know she was okay after all the things that had been going on for the past few days.

As he held her, Sasuke never realized how much he would have liked to do this all the time- without her being sick though, but somewhere along his thoughts, he was abruptly brought back when Hinata suddenly turned around, aiming her sharpened teeth at his neck.

Quickly, he grabbed her hand and shoved her wrist at her, hoping it would work. He had a vampire as a sibling, but that sibling was not a girl so he did not know exactly everything.

Hinata tightened her lips, refusing her wrist and confusing Sasuke who could not understand why the girl would not take her blood. It was then that he remembered when Sai had told him she needed foreign blood of her taste and that since Neji lived with her, he had to give her blood.

He'd seen how Neji looked when he came back to school and had seen Kin and Hinata after half moon and decided if he was ever to convert, he was never going to fall victim unless it was important.

But looking at Hinata's pained face, Sasuke's heart clenched at seeing her in such a state and wanted nothing other than to help her feel better.

"Wait!"

Sasuke's wrist was mere inches away from Hinata's bared teeth when Neji jerked his hand away.

"Are you crazy?" he asked. "If you let her bite you, she'll only want your blood until her cycle's over."

Well that was something sasuke did not know and he nodded appreciatively. "I'll shut down her thirst until you get home, but if I do that it will heighten it even more. If I don't, she's attack you on your way home." He did not know all but he knew most.

They stopped when Hinata started to move against him, trying to blindly get at his wrist and quickly, Sasuke tapped her wrist watching as she calmed down slowly.

He got up slowly and stood up. Hanabi was there as well.

"I've got to get back to class, before Kakashi thinks I'm skipping," said Sasuke as he started to walk away. He stopped at the entrance and watched as Neji drove away and sighed.

He would now have to keep a close eye on Naruto for a few days to make sure he would not do anything foolish and make Hinata's life more complicated that it already was.

* * *

Hinata was in heaven and hell all at once.

Her thirst at an all-time high and her stomach was as painful as ever from losing what she lived off of, but the taste of Neji's blood was so heavenly Hinata just focused on the feeling of the warm, sweet liquid going down her throat.

She was there lying in her bed with her limbs with Neji's under the covers as she shivered from both the cold and the heat of the room.

It was now the third time for the night she woke up and Hinata was still not feel satisfied as she greedily sucked at the wrist and heard the muffles groan of her meal.

* * *

Sasuke had better days, but he really needed answers and he needed them even if it was at three-thirty in the morning.

He knocked on the door of his brother's door and heard a muffled 'come in.'

Sasuke opened the door and walked right in, having to blink a couple times to adjust to the darkness of the room and saw his brother lying on the bed staring at the ceiling.

"What's on your mind?" asked Itachi when Sasuke sat at the edge of the bed.

"I want to convert."

Itachi sat up suddenly, startling Sasuke. "You said…what?"

"I want to convert to your kind," said Sasuke. It was the only way he was going to help Hinata forget Naruto and the only way he could think of to fix everything.

Sasuke watched as Itachi shook his head. "It's not that easy, Sasuke," Itachi said. "But why do you want to do this?"

There was no way Sasuke was going to tell Itachi the real reason if his older brother did not already know anyway, but by the narrowing of Itachi's eyes and the mocking smirk, Sasuke had no choice.

"I want to be with Hinata," said Sasuke as he looked away in embarrassment. "She barely talks to me except when I tutor her in math sometimes. Naruto's being an ass and even if I have to wait until forever when she sees that, becoming a vampire is the only way I will be able to wait that long."

Itachi smiled and Sasuke had to wonder when last he had seen his brother produce such an honest smile and returned the gesture.

"I see…" Itachi trailed. "It can't be now though. You'll have to wait a little while."

Sasuke let go a sigh of relief. For once, something he asked of his brother was not shot down.

"Demo… I have a question to ask you," said Itachi.

"Nani?"

"How far are you willing to go for Hinata?" asked Itachi lying down again.

Sasuke thought for awhile. Where was Itachi going with his question?

"I'd do anything to see her happy," said Sasuke truthfully.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Would you die for her?"

* * *

Hinata was feeling much better now that her period was done and she was sure Neji was of the same view because she was really out of it for the past few days and because of her Neji was still drained. Her father was supposed to be at the house since Saturday morning and it was now Tuesday evening and he still had not shown up. Maybe it was for the best, because Hinata was in no mood to see her father when full-moon was coming so soon.

It was only a few days away.

Hinata was at the computer even though it was nearly four in the morning with Sasuke and Sai since Naruto had stopped talking to her two hours ago and she could only guess that he had fallen asleep.

**Onyx20: so r u sure u're feeling better?**

**Candyapple7: hai**

**Onyx20: r u nervous about ur first full-moon?**

**Flames13: did u finish the hw I sent u?**

**Candyapple7: very**

**Candyapple7: I'm kinda stuck at some of them so I'll ask u about them in the morning.**

**Flames13: u rarely get school early**

**Onyx20: u shudn't b scared. There's nothing 2 b nervous about b/c it's almost the same as half-moon, just more intense.**

**Candyapple7: I'll get to school early I promise. I'm turning in k?**

**Candyapple7: ok I'll try not 2 worry about it. I'm hitting the sack k?**

**Flames7: kk, I'll c u in the morning, Hinata**

**Onyx20: I'll c u 2morrow, Hinata-chan**

**Candyapple7: bye!**

**Candyapple7: bye!**

**Candyapple7: SIGNED OUT**

Hinata got up from the chair and walked out of the bedroom, not caring if she was only in her vest and panties, to Neji's room to see if he was feeling better.

He was still in bed when she got there, but had a lot more color to him. Hinata sat in his computer chair.

"You're not going to bite me, Hinata," said Neji sitting up.

Hinata smiled and came over to the bed while biting her tongue as she came over to him. She thought for awhile and before Neji could stop her, bit into her wrist, closing her eyes at the rush of blood.

"Why did you do that?!" asked Neji concerned, but he did not get an immediate answer because Hinata pounced on him, straddling his waist.

"Because I miss seeing you as my cousin," said Hinata. "I hate only looking at you as a meal or a potential mate."

She grinned at the fact that her thirst was satisfied and what she was about to do.

"Why are you grinning like that?" asked Neji confused.

"You're too weak to resist me sleeping with you," said Hinata happily and got off of Neji, shoving the covers aside and getting under.

"We're too old for this," said Neji tiredly and frowned when Hinata wrapped her hands around Neji's bare waist and looked up at him pouting.

"But I miss doing this," Hinata whined. When they were not much younger, whenever any of the two of them needed comfort, they would go to the other's room to sleep there especially when Hinata's father was at home. Of course, they had to sneak when he was there. Hanabi was never a cuddle kind of person, unless she was suffering from a nightmare or something of the sort.

Neji sighed and turned to Hinata and pulled her closer. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Hinata smiled sadly. "I wish I could tell you, but I'm not even sure myself," said Hinata softly.

"It's ok," Neji whispered and he reached over her to turn out the lights. "Just go to sleep."

"Hai, Neji-niisan, demo…"

"Nani?"

"What if I told you what I think?" whispered Hinata.

"Hai," said Neji

Hinata paused for awhile and Neji waited patiently for her to begin.

"I think Naruto likes Sakura," she said seriously.

Neji shifted a little. "You knew that before you got into a relationship with him, Hinata," he said.

"I know that, but I heard he's been acting on his feelings for her," said Hinata.

"That's not good."

"That's not all…" Hinata trailed.

"There's more?" Neji asked, his concerned voice turning harsh.

"He likes Karin too and I over heard Karin telling Kin she's going to take Naruto from me," Hinata whispered as tears rimmed her eyes. "And I think Naruto's going to go willingly."

Neji squeezed her tightly and then lifted her chin to him, Hinata seeing the worry in his eyes by the moonlight that flooded through the curtains.

"Hinata, I know you are smart enough to know to trust your heart. I know you won't like me to break a limb or two of Naruto, even though I'd rather break all, because you're not that type of person," he whispered to her. He then kissed her nose.

"You're my cute little cousin and you are in every way, the best girl out there and if Naruto can't see that and he's doing shit behind your back, he's even slower than I think he is."

He wiped away the tears that Hinata could not control and hugged her tighter. "Get some sleep, Hinata. Everything will be okay in the end."

Hinata had no choice but to believe him as she hugged him closer and kissed him on the cheek before drifting off.

--

Hinata woke up to squeals and knew that was not normal because she was the first to wake up every morning and for someone to wake her up it would mean it was well before the time for her to be up since she was still very sleepy.

Neji stirred as well but remained sleeping and Hinata could understand that since he was still weak from blood loss. Turning over to see the time and ignoring the poking in her back, a blushing Hinata got up out of the bed to see what was wrong with her sister.

She could hear talking from down the hallway and knew Hanabi was not mad enough to talk to herself and have such a deep voice, meaning her stress level was about to go up a notch.

Hinata walked to the door, noticing the traveling bag and knocked. "Hanabi?" she called and heard Hanabi's patter of feet and the door was flung open, showing a rosy faced younger sister.

"You won't believe it!" Before Hinata could even protest, Hanabi tugged her arm and she was inside; Hanabi said she was going for some water and left the two alone.

"Hello, Hinata."

Hinata looked into the cold hard eyes of her father, Hiashi Hyuga.

"Hello father," Hinata said meekly.

He stood up from sitting in the computer chair. "Do you always walk around the house like that?"

Hinata looked down to see she was still in her sleep wear. "This is how I sleep, you woke me up," said Hinata.

"Fine, where is Neji?" her father asked.

"He's not feeling well," answered Hinata.

Hinata just hoped he would not ask why.

"And why is that?" asked her father, making Hinata cringe inside because she had to tell him.

"…Reasons."

"Hinata," her father warned.

"I bit him- on the wrist," she said quickly and watched as the color drained from his face before he caught himself and spoke again.

"What did I tell you about saying those things in my presence," Hiashi ground out.

"But you asked, Otou-san," Hinata replied and counted down the seconds.

"Don't play smart with me, Hinata," her father said harshly. "You know not to speak of anything about your kind around me."

"But you were married to one of us," pleaded Hinata.

"I did not know at first and I was too in love with your mother when she told me to walk away from her, you know that," said Hiashi.

"Hai," Hinata agreed. She really did not want to discuss anything while she was so tired. "But tell me one thing, why won't you let me see my mother's clan?"

Hiashi sighed. "I've lost track of them, I don't know where they are," he said. "Enough of that talk, I didn't want to wake you three up because you have school tomorrow but I couldn't resist." And Hinata saw one of the rare smiles of his before he walked towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I don't want my time here to be difficult for any of us here," he said and Hinata nodded. "I know I have not been the best in caring for you all and I took out my frustration on especially you and Neji. I know I'm too late in trying to be your father but I just want my stay to be a happy one."

Hinata's heart swelled and she grinned at him, catching him by surprise.

"Since when do you grin like that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and the same time Hanabi came through the door. Seeing her rub her eyes, her father decided to let them go to bed.

"Go get some sleep," he said. "I'm leaving early in the morning for a meeting with Tsunade-sama about this dead and dreary city's security and all of that, but I'll be home early with you for the rest of the week. Konoha is so small though, we'd hardly have anything to do. "

Hinata walked through the door as well as her father and they parted ways, Hiashi going to his bedroom while Hinata walked towards Neji's.

"You shouldn't sleep with boys, Hinata," she heard and turned around walking backward to see her father walking away. "You never know what they're thinking and you don't need the unnecessary happenings that come with it."

Hinata turned around again. "We're cousins, Otou-san," she called. "It doesn't matter."

And she went into the bedroom and slipped back under the covers again to drift to sleep before waking up only an hour later.

--

The week flew by and Hinata was having a blast even though she was sure Naruto was with Karin. She had forced that from her mind, not allowing anything to come in the way of her time with Neji, Hanabi and her father.

He took them all over the city of Konoha, going on picnics after school, buying what ever they desired and craved and Hinata was truly happy even when he left to go back to the head office out of the city earlier that day, which was Friday.

Naruto's birthday.

Naruto, being the person he was, had invited everyone, even his cousin Konohamaru and his class which included Hanabi, to Ichiraku's for a small party and now Hinata was having the time of her life watching all the others singing on stage.

"Hina-chan, why won't you sing since the first time we went on a date?" asked Naruto who was sitting next to her at the table. Sasuke, Sai, Karin, Kin and even Itachi were there, the latter still giving Naruto shivers when he looked his way.

Hinata looked away from Lee's impressive 'kung fu fighting' performance to smile at Naruto. "Because I have no reason to."

"But I liked when you sang for m-me," Naruto stuttered as he squirmed. Hinata ignored it as she looked at Lee on the stage still singing.

* * *

Sasuke's stomach was churning as he sat at the table, even though the only person who had eaten was Naruto.

Itachi had left just awhile ago to 'get something to eat' and he now had no one to talk to since Sai, who was sitting next to him, was talking to Kin and Hinata was talking to a blushing Naruto while Karin was sitting innocently quiet with her hands in 'her' lap.

Innocent his ass.

The only persons innocent at the table were Hinata and himself even though he hated to admit it to anyone.

"A-ano, I'm going to the bathroom," squeaked Naruto and got up quickly, leaving them staring after him.

They all stared after him before fixing their attention back on the stage, seeing Sakura singing 'Girlfriend.' To tell the truth, she sounded horrible, but Sasuke was not one to start a conversation so he kept his thoughts to himself.

Not five minutes had passed when Karin got up from her chair. "I'm going to get another drink before someone else goes up there," she said and walked away without anyone really noticing her absence.

Sasuke moved across until he was sitting next to Hinata who was watching Kiba argue with Ino over who should sing first with a smile.

"Hey," he said, causing Hinata to look his way.

"Hey," she said still smiling.

They were silent as they watched Ino singing a song he never knew existed for a whole five minutes, and then Kiba had his turn.

"I heard when Naruto asked you to sing," said Sasuke when Kiba was finished, getting Hinata's attention.

"Don't mind him, Hinata," said Kin, but Sasuke just ignored her. "I'm not that fond of singing either."

"I never found anything to move me, inspire me to sing again," said Hinata as she sipped her water. "The only time I sang was the first time I came here with Naruto and I sang to him. That's when our relationship had started."

Sasuke remembered that day all too well because it was the day the heart he never thought he possessed was broken.

"Speaking of Naruto," said Hinata looking around. "I haven't seen him for quite some time now. I'll go see if I find him, ok?"

Sasuke went into panic. Karin was not back yet either so what if the two of them were together somewhere?

Hinata stood up, causing Sai and Kin to look up at her. "I'm going to look for Naruto," she said.

"I'll go instead!" Sai and Sasuke said quickly, startling Hinata. Sasuke looked at Sai as he stared back.

"No thanks," Hinata said with a smile. "I need to stretch my legs anyway."

And she inched around the table, walking in the direction Naruto had gone in.

Sasuke continued to stare at Sai and saw his mirrored expression of fear and worry. Tonight was not going to end well.

* * *

Hinata found her way through all of the people, stopping a moments to talk to Ino about her singing and to fake her interest in Sakura's singing while she ignored her low remarks.

She had no idea what was taking Naruto so long since he only went to the bathroom. Karin had gone to get a drink and had not come back either, but Hinata figured she was probably enjoying herself at the free bar.

Hinata continued to weave her way through the crowd, asking for the bathrooms and was walking along the corridor to the bathroom, singing along to the newest song happily.

Since the corridors were so empty, Hinata could only guess everyone was out at the front and opened the door, hoping not to walk in on anyone doing their business because that would be very embarrassing.

But she was never prepared for what was behind the door.

What she saw when she opened the door was much worse by far and Hinata could not even tear her eyes away.

"N-Naruto!" she squeaked.

Gasps were heard and Naruto and Karin snapped away from their kissing, frozen as they stared at a flabbergasted Hinata.

"Hina-chan! What are you doing here?!" Naruto asked quickly and leapt away from Karin, who he had pinned on the counter with her shirt off and her bra at her waist and the half naked girl moved to cover herself.

Hinata saw that Naruto's pants were unbuttoned and barely hanging on his hips as he took a step forward, causing her to take a step back.

"Hina-c-chan, it's not what it l-looks like," Naruto stuttered.

"Then what is it?" Hinata asked as calmly as possible. "Is it another biology project and you have to see who can clean the other's tonsils first?"

Naruto looked at Karin, who had not said anything yet, then back at her. "Why are you here?" he asked accusingly.

I came to see what was taking my boyfriend so long," Hinata said as calmly as possible as her mind tried to process what she had just witnessed. "What's going on here?"

"I was telling Naruto-kun…Naruto happy birthday," Karin said as she hopped off the counter and started to hurriedly shove on her wrinkle shirt after she slid her bra straps over her shoulders.

"Oh?" asked Hinata quietly. "And is this your present to him?" she asked again looking Karin up and down pointedly.

Before Karin could reply, Naruto approached Hinata and grabbed her hand, tugging her into the empty corridor.

"Hina-chan…" said Naruto glancing back at the bathroom door.

"We're done."

* * *

Sasuke bit his lip nervously. Something was very wrong, and he could feel it. Hinata went to look for Naruto over ten minutes ago and there was sign of her, Naruto or Karin which could only make Sasuke think the worst.

Hinata had finally caught Naruto in the act.

He looked across at Sai and saw he must have been thinking the same thing as well as Kin.

"I should have stopped this from the beginning," she said and Sasuke and Sai looked her way in question. "Karin told me long before anyone knew that she was going to take Naruto away from Hinata and convert him."

"What?!" exclaimed Sasuke, over the singing. "Why didn't you say something to us?"

"I never thought it would get this out of my hands. I thought I had swayed her thinking," said Kin sadly. "If Hinata is hurt, it's going to be my fault."

Sasuke could not agree more with her but Sai stopped him from saying it.

"It's not your fault," he said squeezing her shoulder that he had his arm around. "Karin is the bad person here for seducing Naruto."

Kin looked down shamefaced. "Naruto was more than willing from what Karin told me yesterday," she said. "I should have told Hinata something; she's too sweet to have to go through this."

Sasuke frowned. He knew that he could not go after her because she needed to face to situation on her own, but it was killing him and he was sure it was eating the other two at the table as well. All he could do was sit back and pray that Hinata was not too broken at the end of it.

* * *

Hinata's knees gave out and she crumbled to the floor. "N-nani?" she breathed looking at Naruto's feet.

She heard him sigh and looked up at him as he lowered himself to her level. "We're done, Hina-chan. Gomen."

"Just 'we're done?' No explanation or anything?" Hinata asked. Not a tear was in her eyes and she could tell Naruto was surprised.

"Hina-chan, are you ok?" he asked cautiously and reaching to touch her.

"Don't! Do not touch me," Hinata said flinching away from him. "And do not call me Hina-chan. Ever. Again."

"Look I'm really sorry, Hina-ch… Hinata," said Naruto.

"You're sorry?" asked Hinata. "I'm the one who should be sorry, because I pushed away all the looks and whispers everyone was giving me when I passed at school and I ignored the little winks you and Karin shared. I stepped over the fact that my best friend tried to tell me you were messing around with Karin and still have feelings for Sakura and I smiled when you lied to my face."

Naruto stood up again. "I lied to _you_?" he asked. "You were lying to me too, Hinata."

"Nani?" Hinata asked standing up as well. "What could I have been hiding from you?"

"What you are!"

Hinata's face took on the look of pure shock as she stared at Naruto. "W-what do you mean?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head. "You know what I'm talking about, Hinata. Karin told me what you are; what the people in the house I live in are. When were you going to tell me, your boyfriend- ex…boyfriend."

Hinata was struck dumb for a moment. "I would have told you," Hinata said as her vision blurred and she blinked, realizing it was not from tears.

"When?!" Naruto asked crossing his arms. "When were you going to fucking tell me?!"

Hinata backed into the wall at Naruto's outburst. He had never shouted at her before and it scared her that he would.

"I was planning on telling you tonight," she said softly. She really was going to tell him as a definite surprise; it was too bad she had been the once to get the shock.

"Tonight huh? As a birthday present?" Naruto questioned her. "Well it's too late because Karin told me a few days ago."

He paused.

"That's not all I've found out either," he said lightly and Hinata was confused to see the smug look on his face. "Sakura-chan told me something very interesting a few weeks ago."

"And that would be?" said Hinata.

"What is it that Sasuke it teaching you after school?" asked Naruto, his expression turning into one of utter dislike.

"Nani? He helps me with my math, you know that," said Hinata. Where was he going with this?

"That's not what Sakura-chan said. She said she saw the two of you kissing," Naruto said through clenched teeth. "What was he teaching you? How to count how many teeth you have because I'm sure you could have done that on your own."

Hinata was silent as she racked her mind of any memory of what he was saying when it hit her. There was only one evening that happened and it was by accident.

She cursed to herself in frustration. Of all evenings, it had to be _that _day Sakura saw them.

"That was a mistake!" said Hinata regaining her composure.

"I bet it was," said Naruto as he looked away. "The point is that we have both bee hiding things but that doesn't matter now."

"Iie, can't we sort this out?" asked Hinata. She needed a proper reason; she just needed to know why.

"Hinata," said Naruto looking back at her. "You're everything a guy would want in a girl."

Hinata lowered her vision to the floor again as he said it and sank to the floor.

"Demo… I don't think you're the right girl for me."

"Hai," whispered Hinata and she watched Naruto turn around and he opened the bathroom door. "Gomen."

Hinata stayed in her position even as he came back out holding Karin's' hand with their clothing in check and they walked down the corridor, leaving her there as Karin kept glancing back at her in apology.

--

Hinata got up from her sitting position on the floor with a determined expression on her face. She was not going to let this take her down and she was going to announce what a bastard Naruto was for all to hear.

Ironic wasn't it? She sang at the beginning of their relationship and not even two months later, she was going to sing at the end of it.

* * *

Sasuke knew for sure now that something was very wrong and out of place when he saw Naruto walking back to the table. He was not coming back with Hinata though; instead he was strutting back with a guilty Karin. Not only that, but there was no Hinata.

"Where is Hinata?" Kin asked before Sasuke got the chance. He realized that had been happening the entire night.

Karin bit her lip and Naruto sighed heavily. "She's in the back," said Naruto. "She'll be back soon."

Sasuke could taste the tension around the table and clenched his jaw. If he got up now, it would only look as though he was pursuing Hinata- which he was- so he had to wait awhile before jumping the gun.

He looked at Sai but was forced to look where Sai and Karin's eyes were glued.

"Ohayo, mina," a faint voice flitted through the building.

There was Hinata on the stage and taking a quick glance at Naruto and the others, they were as surprised to see her up there as he was.

"This is going to be the second time I'm singing up here," said Hinata. "And it's funny because the first time was when me and Naruto first dated. But now…" she looked over to his table. "I have been informed that I no longer have a boyfriend."

Multiple reactions were heard throughout Ichiraku's. Some surprised gasps and some knowing murmurs but Hinata was not swayed.

"I hope that everyone here learns from my stupid mistakes."

Sasuke knew Hinata had finally caught Naruto in the act.

* * *

Hinata was tired of being the shy little girl everyone expected her to be. The one that took everything as it came; a complete pushover.

She was done with that and she was going to finally wash her hands with Naruto as she waited for the music to start.

_So much for my happy ending…_

_Let's talk this over, _

_It's not like we're dead._

_Was it something I did? _

_Was it something you said?_

_Don't leave me hanging,_

_In a city so dead._

_Held up so high,_

_On such a breakable thread._

_You were all the things I thought I knew,_

_And I thought we could be…_

_You were everything, everything_

_That I wanted,_

_We were meant to be, supposed to be_

_But we lost it,_

_All of the memories so close to me_

_Just fade away,_

_All this time you were pretending_

_So much for my happy ending…._

And such an ending it would have been.

_You've got your dumb friends,_

_I know what they say._

_They tell you I'm difficult,_

_But so are they._

_But they don't know me,_

_Do they even know you?_

_All the things you hide from me,_

_All the shit that you do?_

Hinata completely ignored the shocked remarks of the crowd as she sang.

_You were all the things I thought I knew_

_And I thought we could be…_

_You were everything, everything_

_That I wanted,_

_We were meant to be, supposed to be_

_But we lost it._

_All of the memories so close to me _

_Just fade away_

_All this time you were pretending_

_So much for my happy ending…_

Hinata could not help but remember the events that happened just a moment ago and how true the lyrics were. It scared her.

_It's nice to know that you were there  
Thanks for acting like you cared  
And making me feel like I was the only one  
It's nice to know we had it all  
Thanks for watching as I fall  
And letting me know we were done…_

Hinata's heart felt as though it had dropped to soles of her feet when she looked at Naruto and Karin who were watching her. She saw Sai and Sasuke stand up but looked away.

_You were everything, everything_

_That I wanted,_

_We were meant to be, supposed to be_

_But we lost it._

_'And there's no getting it back.'_

_All of the memories so close to me _

_Just fade away_

_All this time you were pretending_

_So much for my happy ending…_

_Oh oh, so much for my happy ending…_

Hinata felt so weak, she knew something was definitely not right. Her eyes blurred and she felt herself sway on the spot before she blindly left the stage in front of the awestruck audience. It was then that she felt a warm embraced.

"Sasuke, stay with Kin until I get back from taking Hinata home. Tell Neji that I'm taking her home."

That was Sai's voice. Hinata felt the rush of thirst and bit her tongue quickly.

She let herself be led out through the back entrance and into the car in the passenger seat and she looked across as he shut the door and walked around the car to get in, only to stare into space as he held the steering wheel. Hinata did not even know he could drive.

"Yes I can," said Sai and Hinata's eye's widened. How did he know that was what she was thinking?

"Gomen," he said. "I'm going to be a third stage soon, so I'm going through some changes and one of those changes is extreme sensory enhancement. I can't read minds, but from body language and stuff, I can guess pretty well."

"Oh…"

Sai started the car and soon Hinata was watching the full moon follow her on her way home.

Full-moon?!

Hinata could not believe she had forgotten it was full-moon and shifted uncomfortably as she rested her forehead on the cold glass that was soothing as the car's soft purr hushed her nerves.

When Sai pulled into the driveway, Hinata was never happier. Sai got out first and came around to open the door for her and lifted her out. Fumbling with her keys as Sai held her steady, Hinata opened the door and Sai let her go as they walked inside after she shut back the door.

She went to the kitchen and took out juice from the fridge and took two glasses from the sink, pouring both herself and Sai a glass. Giving him his glass, they silently walked to the living room with Hinata leading and they sat on the couch not saying a word until Sai spoke.

"You have been very brave tonight, Hinata-chan," he said.

"Arigatou, Sai-kun," Hinata said with a smile then a comfortable silence stretched and Hinata yawned tiredly.

"I think you should get some sleep," said Sai and Hinata nodded, getting up.

"Can you come with me?" she asked shyly. She wished Neji was home so he could hug her and say everything was alright. "Will you wait until I fall asleep before you go?"

Sai stood up as well and reached for her hand. "Of course I will."

Hinata felt the sudden surge of thirst run through her and she was sure Sai had felt it as well but they both ignored it and Hinata bit her tongue as she led Sai up to her room.

"I'll be back ok?" she said and Sai did a fake salute as she quickly rummaged through her drawers for her night clothes but took out a pair of shorts since Sai was there and went to take a quick shower before she returned.

When she got back, she saw Sai lying on her bed with his eyes still closed.

"I hope you don't sleep in just your underwear or something," said Sai with a small smile.

"Actually I do, but I didn't want to scare you to death," said Hinata as she joined him, both laughing. "Ano… Sai-kun?"

He turned his face to look at her. "Nani, Hinata-chan?" he asked.

Hinata bit her lip, not sure how to approach him. "Will you sleep with me until I go to sleep?" she asked softly.

"Sure, I'm here to make you feel better," Sai replied and he got up as well as Hinata off the covers. Hinata blushed as she saw Sai's sweeping gaze before he looked away and got under the covers with Sai following suit after taking of his footwear.

"Sai-kun?" Hinata asked as he lay at the other end of the bed. "Why do you think Naruto doesn't want me?"

"Naruto's an idiot," Sai said. "He couldn't see what a perfect girl he had."

It was then that Hinata felt the tears roll from one of her eyes to the other and into her hair as she looked at Sai. Everyone was telling her that Naruto was foolish for not keeping her, but if that was so, why was he gone?

"Is there something wrong with me?" Hinata choked out and felt the sudden electricity when Sai grabbed her by the waist and drew her closer.

"Hinata-chan," he said gazing into her eyes and wiping away the tears. Hinata could not help but feel the comfort she did with Neji and she hugged him closer as he spoke. "There's nothing wrong with you, in fact _everything _is right with you and you just have to know it for yourself because everyone else knows it."

"But what do I have that Karin and Sakura don't?" asked Hinata sadly.

Sai smiled even more. "If I were a pervert, I'd say that you have _a lot _more than either of them has out together, but I'm not am I?"

And for the first time since she got home Hinata laughed. "I agree, Karin's a little off balance," said Hinata as she tilted her hand for emphasis.

And they both laughed and Hinata was so caught up in Sai's smile she did not realize she was slowly moving his way.

Hinata did not know if it was her or the thirst reacting to being so close to Sai, but Hinata found that her senses were starting to go on overload and she could smell Sai's scent and feel his blood pulsing against her through his skin and was seeing Sai as she never had before… as a mate. "I want to forget him, Sai-kun," she whispered and saw Sai's eyes widen a little before nodding.

She knew this was not going to end well as she felt herself being sucked into Sai's dark eyes that glittered in the moon light and his skin glowing in the blue hue the orb had created as the light poured through her opened curtains.

Hinata could tell Sai was in no better state and just the sight of his hunger made Hinata's eyes blur again as she inched up at his face before touching his lips with hers before pulling away. Sai caressed her face almost lovingly and Hinata sighed at the feeling of finally being wanted as her eyes flitted to his neck, at his parted lips and back at his neck again as he watched her neck as well.

The vein there was pulsing so invitingly, Hinata's mind went completely blank and Hinata ran her tongue over her edged teeth, leaving a trail of blood.

She had no idea how it happened, but as soon as Sai did the same she crushed her lips to his and kissed him harshly, tasting the new blood. What she had not expected was for Sai to kiss her back and that made matters even more complicated for her and Hinata felt something she never did before. She felt her fingertips tingling in a strange way as she brushed them down Sai's chest hearing him hiss and when she looked down, she was most surprised to see lengthened nails; claws.

She had cut his shirt, leaving a trail of blood along his chest and just seeing the deep crimson against his glowing skin sent Hinata's mind to a state of shock as she felt her tongue sting from the cut that Sai made with his teeth.

All caution was thrown through the open window when she felt excitement race through he as the vest she was wearing tear down from the neck by Sai's now brute strength and he climbed over her with his eyes showing the hunger she now had.

"_Sai-kun_," she breathed.

Hinata pulled him down for another kiss and moved to lick along his jaw line to his neck, feeling the cold air turn hot and thick with the thirst and desire they were both feeling as she grazed her teeth along his neck and shoulders before Sai tilted her face upwards to capture her lips once more and then moved down to her neck kissing the pulse there.

The feeling of being about to be bitten and about to bite was delicious and Hinata slipped in and out of her mind, trying to decide if what she was doing was right. Her conscious self telling her to stop but her body telling her to go all the way.

Hinata's body won the conflict and she was tugging at Sai's shirt as he peeled away the vest from her shoulders and Hinata pushed herself even closer to him, wrapping her legs around his waist, bringing him down between her opened legs and his hand traveled downwards, as he continued to nip at her neck, tracing the top of her shorts and pulling them down…

"What the hell is going on here?!"

All hunger ceased and Hinata's consciousness return, bringing her world crashing down as she was caught tangled under who she had considered her best friend. She had never felt so dirty and ashamed before at the look on the face that caught her just before she had done something she knew she would have regretted.

"Answer me!"

Hinata flinched at the sound and it was then that she lost all of her senses as she felt Sai's weight lift off of her and started to try to keep her awake.

_'What have I gotten myself into?'_

* * *

**_And there you have it folks and I really hope this is still T rated. But if you want, I'll put up a Behind the Scenes oneshot of the real details._**

**_I think this chapter should make up for the long wait I made you go through and the fact that my last chapter for _****Princess Hina****_ was not as dark as I would have liked, even though that will surely change with the next chapter._**

**_Do what you do best and make me laugh with your reviews and as always, if you have not read Princess Hina or my newest fic, _****A Happy Ending****_, please do so._**

**_On the note of '_****A Happy Ending****_,' that song has nothing to do with my new fic so I'm just letting you know. _**

**_The song I used in this chapter is 'A Happy Ending- Avril Lavigne.'_**

**_Anyways, Until next week…_**

**_Ja_****_ ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!!_**


	16. Moving on

**_And here is the 16th chapter! I hope you didn't have to wait forever._**

**_Please excuse any errors._**

**_R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Moving on**

Hinata opened her eyes when she heard the shouting in the next room.

"_It's a good thing Kin wasn't the one who came up here! What the hell were you thinking?_"

"_It just happened."_

That's right, Hinata remembered the intense thirst and hunger she was feeling earlier and when Sasuke caught them in a very compromising position. A blush spread across her face as she remembered the way she was feeling with Sai and then the deep shame afterwards because she felt no better than Naruto and Karin.

What really caused the blush was the hurt she saw on Sasuke's face when he walked in on them. If Hinata remembered anything, it was that but she had to wonder why he would be hurt.

"_It shouldn't just happen, what if Kin came up here to see you mauling Hinata? You can't have them both, Sai."_

_"I don't want them both, Hinata's a friend even though I like her I already claimed Kin."_

_"Well act like it."_

_"I'm going to the car."_

Hinata heard footsteps disappearing and then her door opened showing Sasuke. Hinata pulled the sheet up higher to conceal her exposed chest and looked away as Sasuke walked towards her and sat down.

"Gomen," said Hinata softly. She had no idea why she was apologizing, but she did it anyway.

"It's not your fault," said Sasuke. "You've been through a lot tonight and maybe you thought this was a way to forget."

He was right. Even though it was full moon and she had lost some of her rational senses, Hinata was still aware of wat she was doing and had just wanted to forget everything. She did not realize she was crying until she felt her tears run down her hands that were at her chin, clutching at the sheets.

"I must look so silly crying over what I can't control," whispered Hinata as she tried to wipe away the stream of flowing tears.

"It's not silly," Sasuke said leaning forward to wipe Hinata's tears away. It was then that she realized for the entire week, someone was wiping her tears and picking up the pieces for her. "Don't give the idiot the benefit of seeing you cry, okay?"

"Hai, Sasuke… kun," said Hinata with a determined face and smiling at Sasuke's surprised face. "He won't see me cry, Karin either."

Hinata felt as though the entire world was lifted off her shoulders. All the worries and doubts and hurt were gone and she felt as though she would float right off the bed.

"Where's Sai?" she asked when she remembered he was not there.

"He's in the car with Kin," said Sasuke. "To tell the truth, I really don't feel like going down there."

"Why not?" Hinata asked confused.

"Tonight is full moon and…" Sasuke looked away as though disgusted beyond anything she ever saw, making her laugh when she realized what he was trying to say.

"I see," she said still laughing.

"Don't laugh, I'll have to pry them away from each other until we get home and have Sai drive or something to keep those two apart," Sasuke said, wrinkling his nose. "All that thirst in the air. Speaking of thirst, how do you feel?"

Hinata thought for awhile. She was not feeling thirst or hungry at all.

"I'm fine surprisingly," she said.

"That's probably because I tapped you just after you fainted," said Sasuke. "I'm sorry for ruining your full moon."

Hinata smiled. "I have plenty more to come," she said. "I'm glad you stopped us before we would have doe something I know we would regret. I don't know what I would have done if Kin had caught me with Sai."

"Kin is a forgiving person," said Sasuke. "But maybe it's best not to think about what she would have done to Sai. I don't think she would have done anything to you."

"Arigatou, Sasuke-kun," said Hinata and at that moment they heard footsteps and Neji and Hanabi showed their faces at the door.

"Sasuke, I think you should go down to your car and stop those two," said Neji with the same look on his face that Sasuke had just minutes ago. Hanabi's face was so pale it looked as though all the blood had been drain from it.

"I know vampires suck blood, but what they are doing is going too far," the smaller Hyuga said.

"I'll go sort it out, it's full moon so they don't have much control," Sasuke said and he got up and walked to the door as he said farewell to the three Hyuga.

Hanabi looked at Hinata's state and raised an eyebrow as well as Neji.

"What were you two doing?" asked Hanabi with a smirk this time. "Did you lose your control too?"

Hinata blushed and hid behind the sheets. "It's not like that, I nearly bit Sai but Sasuke stopped us from… well from doing what Kin and Sai were doing."

"I think you need to hang out with Ino again, "said Neji with a smirk of his own. "Boys as best friends may not be a great idea."

"I'm fine," Hinata said smiling. It was hard not to when she was free.

Hanabi and Neji muttered a goodnight to her and left as she put on her clothes and pulled off her pants to get some sleep. She was so relieved she fell asleep before she knew it. She was so happy she no longer had to worry about what rumor was going around about Naruto and her anymore because all of the rumors were true anyway.

* * *

When Sasuke got home, he did not think he had been happier to see the inside of his room. He had a sore struggle keeping Sai and Kin apart and had to tap Kin since she was the one who was trying to strangle Sai while he was driving from her buckled up position in the back seat. Although she was strong enough to resist falling asleep, she had been sated for awhile until just before they got home and Sai nearly crashed into a lamppost from the bite she managed to don him.

Before Sai could park the car in the garage properly, they had both rushed out of the car to go inside, leaving the car running and Sasuke had to park it properly before he went inside as well.

He did not want to know where his brother was, he did not want to know where Naruto and Karin were either but he heard anyway and he already knew where Sai and Kin were although he did not want to. He swore living with teen vampires was hell.

He just lay face down on his bed with the pillow over his head and yelled with all his might until his voice cracked and lay there completely exhausted, thinking about the day that had passed.

Naruto was such a pain in the neck, but Sasuke could not hate him for what he did because in a way he was doing the same thing even though he had not gone so far as to hurt someone's feelings.

He then though about what Kin had said. Karin told them Naruto knew about their secret and that Karin wanted Naruto to convert. Thinking about it, he was sure that Naruto would not want to convert unless there was something deep between him and Karin.

In all honesty, Sasuke was glad that Naruto had found someone else but not at the price it cost. Hinata did not deserve what he and Karin had done to her and he just hoped that the smile Hinata had before he left was genuine.

* * *

The weekend had passed easy enough and the week had flown by. It was Wednesday now and Hinata was in Art class with Kurenai-sensei. Apart from the stares and whispers Hinata got during the week, the news of hers and Naruto's breakup over Karin was fading away and Hinata was glad to just sit at her desk and do her best with drawing the still life of a vase of flowers.

"Frigging flowers," Sasuke complained. He was with her for most of the week and Hinata couldn't be happier. Sai and Kin were working at one of the large desks Kurenai made by joining the desk together. "She could have given us something else."

She's just all bubbly because I heard she's been going out with Asuma-sensei," Kin said with a smirk.

"Why is it that you people know everything before we do?" asked Hinata. "You transfers get all the news."

"That's because some people don't think to hide away when talking around us when they gossip because they think we don't know who they are talking about anyway," Sai said with a grin. "For instance, I heard your little sister likes Naruto's cousin and he was telling the other boy Udon that he'd like to go out with her."

Hinata's mouth gaped like a fish. "Why didn't she tell me that?"

Sai shrugged. "She probably didn't want you to know she liked someone so close to Naruto," he said.

"I don't care about that anymore," said Hinata. "I'm going to get her to tell me every detail when we get home or I'll threaten to tell Neji."

They all laughed at that, causing the class to look at them and Kurenai to hiss a 'quiet' at them.

* * *

It was evening and Sasuke and Hinata had lessons for Math. He could tell Hinata was better now and was much more focused than she was on Monday, but that did not mean she was doing very well. Asuma-sensei started a new topic and Hinata was struggling miserably.

The sound of Hinata slamming her hand on the desk jumped Sasuke and he watched as she banged he head on the desk in defeat. "I can't do this," she said. "I'm really trying but…" She looked up and took hold of the pencil she was using and broke it in half before throwing it across the room. "… It's not good enough!"

Sasuke was accustomed to this behavior from Naruto when he helped him with homework before Karin took up the job. He never saw Hinata so angry before though and he sat up from his slouched position in his chair.

"I'm sure you don't want to give the janitor more work by littering the class room with broken pencils," he said. "That's the third one and I won't like it if I have to give you another paper because you tore that one up."

Hinata sighed and then looked up at him. "Gomen, I'm just not my usual self."

"Then maybe you should take a chill pill," said Sasuke and as he expected, Hinata broke out with laughter. "What? I always wanted to say that."

"Arigatou, Sasuke," Hinata said smiling. It was not the grin he had grown used to seeing, but instead it was the small trace of joy she was feeling that made Sasuke smile as well.

"What for?" he asked.

"For not leaving me even though I'm not good enough," Hinata said shyly and he saw her chewing her tongue.

Sasuke's eyes softened. Maybe she was dealing with Math the way she was dealing with Naruto. Leaning forward to touch her hand, feeling her thirst pulse through her skin, Sasuke got her to look up at him.

"Hinata, you're just trying too hard," he said, meaning every word. "Stop killing yourself about it and if one question is to hard, move on to the next until you know what to do in the end."

"Hai, Sasuke-kun," said Hinata and she took the pencil that Sasuke offered her. "Can you show me again?"

Sasuke got up and walked around the desk, taking the chair with him.

"What are you doin?" asked Hinata cautiously. "You know you can't come too close to me."

Sasuke set down his chair and sat down, immediately seeing Hinata blink drowsily and breathing quickly.

"Give me your wrist," he said and grabbed at her hand, tapping the pulse at her wrist and saw her relax.

"Arigatou," said Hinata with a sigh. "I don't want to bite you."

"I wouldn't mind at all," Sasuke muttered, but he saw that Hinata had heard him and her eyes grew. "If you… would not talk about such things. Let's get some homework done."

It was a lame recover, but at least he tried.

He scooted his chair closer and opened the text book again that Hinata had nearly ripped in half earlier and opened it to the right page.

"Here's how you do it," said Sasuke and he took her through everything until she got the first part right.

"Now you just have to…"

Sasuke found that Hinata was no longer looking at the text book or what he was showing her on the paper, but instead she was glancing at him and he doubted she even heard what he had said last. "Hinata are you listening?" he asked, snapping her out of whatever it was she was thinking about.

"Ano… hai," said Hinata blushing. "Gomen." She then took the pencil from Sasuke and scribbled down the answer nervously, actually getting it right.

"It's correct," said Sasuke and was thanked with a hug.

"Arigatou! I think I understand it now," said Hinata still holding on to his collar and they both paused.

Sasuke saw a blush surface on Hinata's cheeks and felt his own cheeks tingling as well from how close they were.

It was way too close for someone who had just been dumped and Sasuke was not sure what he should do, but he had no choice because lips were suddenly pressed on his.

Sasuke was kissed many times by girls who forced themselves on him and had been grabbed, poked, groped and any other thing that could be done, but nothing compared to this.

He could feel Hinata's faint thirst pulsing on his lips and then she bit his lip, surprising him as she deepened the kiss and then they parted.

"Why did you do that?" Sasuke breathed.

Hinata smiled. "I needed to move on to the next question," she whispered, still holding on to his collar. "And maybe I like you. Why did you kiss me back?"

Sasuke felt as though his heart was going to jump from his chest and choke him when he heard Hinata say that. "Maybe I like you too," he said. "But are you sure about this? It's only been a week."

Hinata nodded. "I know, but there's no hope for me and Naruto ever again and I'm not trying to replace him or anything if that's what you think. I have to go on with life."

Sasuke was still not sure and he felt like such a girl for hesitating, but he knew he had to give her time to know for sure. "Ok," he said with a small smile. "Let's get on to the next question then, but we'll take it one step at a time."

"Fine by me," said Hinata, letting him go and Sasuke unwrapped his arms from around her waist, not sure how the got there and Hinata took up the pencil to finish her homework.

"I knew it wasn't all Maths you were teaching."

Sasuke looked up to see Naruto in the doorway with his arms folded and cursed under his breath.

"What are you doing here," Sasuke asked calmly.

Naruto sighed and bit his lip. "I know that you're in the middle of… lessons or whatever, but I'd like to talk to Hinata."

What the hell could Naruto want to talk to Hinata about that was so important that he couldn't tell her when Hinata got on the computer when she got home?

He looked across at Hinata and saw that she was nervously licking and biting her lips.

"It won't take long," said Naruto fidgeting and obviously uncomfortable with the whole thing.

Hinata got up from her seat and walked right past Naruto, leaving him no choice but to follow and Sasuke was proud that she was so calm as she did it. He watched as Naruto one more glance at him. "I'll see you when I get home I guess," he said and walked through the door as well.

Sasuke decided not to get involved with the conversation and let Hinata handle Naruto on her own, but if he heard one sniff or word louder than it was supposed to be, he was going to punch Naruto in the kisser.

* * *

Hinata walked out of the classroom and Naruto followed as she went to her locker which was not far from the room and backed on the locker door, waiting for Naruto to catch up.

"What do you wat?" she asked blankly. She had no time to be gentle or beat around the bush with Naruto because he certainly did not when he told her they were finished.

Naruto leaned on the wall opposite her with his hands in his pockets. "I had to sneak away to come down here, but it was the only way I could talk to you without anyone at home or school in our way," he said. "Hina- Hinata, Gomen for what I did to you and I never planned for any of this to happen."

"But it did," said Hinata.

"I know," Naruto agreed. "Demo… I don't want us to be bitter about it and I'd like if we can be friends."

"Iie," said Hinata coolly. She wanted to be his friend to stop the harsh feelings she had towards him even though she hid it but she was not sure if she was ready yet. "Iie, I don't think that's a good idea. For now, act as you did before we dated, like you never knew I existed. I'm not ready to face you as a friend yet."

The shock on Naruto's face was worth a million dollars. He must have thought she would smile at him and tell him everything was alright with the world and it was perfectly fine to cheat on her and expect forgiveness. "Anything else?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head when the shock wore off and scratched his cheek. "Iie," he said. "Gomen demo, I really did and still love you and it's going to be hard to not say anything to you again for awhile but I think I deserve it."

And Hinata watched as he walked down the corridor and turned away when her vision blurred with tears; she tried so hard not to let them fall and sniffed, swallowing a sob as she sank to the floor.

"Are you ok?" she heard Sasuke ask and then felt his arms around her shoulders as he sat on the floor.

"I told him to not speak to me until I was ready," said Hinata, blinking back the tears and looking at Sasuke with red eyes.

Sasuke stood up and reached out his hand.

"That's the first step," he said and Hinata smiled up at him. "Are you ready to move on?"

Hinata reached up, grasping his hand with her own. "Hai, Sasuke-kun," said Hinata as she was pulled up and was half carried to the classroom.

"Let's get on with it then," said Sasuke, giving her the pencil to continue her homework.

"Let's!"

* * *

**_And that was the 16th chapter. I'm kinda happy with this and I think you may be too because FINALLY we have some SasuHina!_**

**_I forgot to say this at the end of Princess Hina, but if you have not read that yet, please do and also try A Happy Ending as well if you like._**

**_Until next week…_**

**_Ja_****_ ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	17. Hinata's clan

**_Here is the 17th chapter! Sorry I took so long, my only excuse is writer's block. I hope you like this._**

**_Excuse any errors and don't forget to R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Hinata's clan  
**

**--**

The days flew and it was Saturday night, a whole week and some after her last conversation with Naruto at lessons by and Hinata could hardly believe it was reality. She was truly happy again as she sat on the couch watching T.V with Sasuke with her head on his knees as she curled up.

It was not easy knowing she was in the same house as Naruto and Karin, but somehow whenever she was there she never saw or heard them and could not help but feel that Sasuke was the reason for it.

It was not official that Hinata and Sasuke were as close as they were yet and they kept their distance anywhere in public. Not even Neji and Hanabi knew about them.

"I don't see why you like to watch this," Sasuke complained as he lounged in the chair with his arm around Hinata's shoulder. She had to bite and tap her wrist to be near him. "I know you're only watching this to look at that man right there." They were watching Titanic.

Hinata looked up at him to see he was pouting and muffled a laugh with her hand. "It's not just to look at him," said Hinata. "He's good looking but I have who I want."

Sasuke showed her one of his rare smiles and Hinata returned it. They were definitely becoming more open with each and Hinata loved every moment she spent with him, even if it was just lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling- her favorite.

Just then, Hinata heard footsteps rapidly getting closer and from the speed, it could only be one person.

Naruto bounded down the stairs and ran right past the two without even noticing, but when he came back he froze.

"Oh hey, Sasuke," he said cheerfully. "I never thought I'd see you watching that so willingly." Obviously he had not seen Hinata because he was behind the couch. Hinata sat up. "Oh! A-ano I didn't see you there, Hinata," stuttered Naruto. Somehow, he was feeling the effects of the breakup more than Hinata was. "Better be careful how you do that of people might get the wrong idea," he said with a chuckle and left a very red faced Hinata as he went up the stairs.

"I told him not to talk to you when you're here," said Sasuke clenching his jaw.

"You did?" asked Hinata, even though she had the idea that he had. "That's nice of you, but I don't mind. It seems to be eating him up more than it is me."

Sasuke nodded. "I know. He told me last night that he'd like to talk to you again but I told him you're not ready. Is that ok?"

"Hai, I'm not ready to be friends with him yet," said Hinata and they continued watching the movie until Hinata was in tears at the end.

"You are such a cry baby," said Sasuke with a smirk.

"I am not," Hinata said as she wiped her tears and sat up. "I'm going to wash my face."

Hinata stood up and walked towards the closest bathroom, opening the door and walking right in and heading for the sink to wash her face. Hinata turned on the tap and splashed her face before taking a towel to wipe off the water. Looking in the mirror, Hinata saw a fairly pretty girl that her friends called beautiful.

Was she though? She did not even know who she really was and where she was really from. Her looks were not just based off of her father, but her mother as well. She was sure her personality was a result of all she went through from not having an older female to look up to, having never seen any of her family other than her father, Neji and Hanabi. Who was Hinata? The girl that was staring back at her, the vampire?

Hinata walked back to the living room and lay next to Sasuke on the floor with her legs crossed at the ankles and her hands behind her head.

"Sasuke-kun?" she said while staring at the white washed ceiling.

"Hai?" asked Sasuke tiredly. It was roughly after twelve.

"I don't really know who I am," said Hinata through a bitten lip. "I have no idea where I'm from."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sasuke a little more alert. "Are you talking about your clan?" He knew Hinata was curious about her mother's clan since her father was not a vampire.

"I need to find where my mother's clan is; I don't even know what they are called and my father said he doesn't know where they are," sighed Hinata. "I need to know something- anything about them even if it's what the name of the clan is."

Looking at Sasuke, Hinata saw that Sasuke had a slight frown.

"When Itachi first came here, he asked about you from your smell or something that was on us," started Sasuke still in thought. "I refused to tell him about you because he was… or is interested in you for some reason, but when I said you were Hyuuga he said you were forbidden."

"Me?" asked Hinata sitting up. "Why would I be forbidden and from who?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I have no idea, but it can't be because you're Hyuuga because that family is not a vampire clan as far as I know."

"Then there's something else right?" asked Hinata hopefully. "Itachi never told you why I was forbidden, for whatever reason. I'm not this way because I'm Hyuuga so it has to be something that went on that no one really knows about."

Sasuke nodded. "When I asked Itachi what he meant, he shut off the conversation."

"Where is he?" asked Hinata suddenly. "Itachi, where is he now?" She had not felt his presence for the entire day and the itch on her neck was non-existent even at school.

"Beats me," said Sasuke with a shrug. "He's almost never home, out feeding or something. I don't really know since I'm not one of you."

Hinata looked away. "Is there a way you can become a vampire, Sasuke?" she asked and saw a deeper frown appear on Sasuke's face. "O-oh I'm sorry! Who would want a life like this, right?"

"Iie, it's not that," said Sasuke, sitting up as well. "I just have not made up my mind about it yet, even though I've wanted to be one of your kind for as long as I can remember. I will convert, but when I'm sure we're ready."

"We?" asked Hinata confused. "What does your conversion have to do with me?"

"If I convert, I'm doing it to be with you," said Sasuke, looking away. He seemed embarrassed about saying such things. "It's a long process and in order to turn, two people must be involved."

"… What do you mean by 'involved?'" asked Hinata.

"I can't really tell you, but it's not a very pretty ordeal from what Itachi tells me," said Sasuke.

"Do you have to let someone bite you or do you have to bite someone?" Hinata questioned and Sasuke chuckled softly.

"That's the mild part of it," he started, but he was interrupted by Hinata's cell phone ringing.

She took it out of her jean's pocket and flipped it open, seeing it was Neji.

"Moshi moshi?" she answered.

_"Do I have to come for you or will Sasuke bring you home?" _asked Neji_. "It's kinda late."_

"It's Neji," Hinata mouthed to Sasuke and he nodded as he stood up and walked out of the room.

"Sasuke is going to give me a ride home, ok?" said Hinata. "I don't see why I couldn't have just stayed over."

_"You stayed over yesterday," _said Neji. _"Plus it's driving me crazy being here with only Hanabi."_

Hinata laughed and watched as Sasuke came back into the room and walked towards the front of the house to go outside. "I'm coming to rescue you," she said and got up to follow Sasuke.

On the way home, Hinata stared out through the tinted glass sadly. She had almost everything she wanted, except knowing where she came from and who her mother was. She could not even remember her; as hard as she tried to search her memory for anything that would remind her of her life before her mother died… nothing. It was as though all of her memories of that period were erased.

"Sasuke?" asked Hinata, as she came to a realization.

"Hn?"

"You erased my memory once right," asked Hinata. "When we got locked in the janitor's closet; I don't remember what happened."

"You tried to bite me and you were really far gone so I tapped your neck to knock you out and erase your memory," said Sasuke, not taking his eyes off the road. "Why did you ask that?"

"Do you think it's possible t hat my memories of when I was younger were erased?" asked Hinata. "I should be able to remember _something. _I was five years old when my mother died, not two."

Sasuke sighed. "I think you should be able to remember at least a little of your mother," he said. "Do you think you can't recall anything because it was purposely done?"

"Hai," Hinata said softly. "Why would anyone do that? I have to know and I need you to help me."

Sasuke pulled into Hinata's driveway and stopped, turning off the engine and he looked across at her intensely.

"I'll do anything for you," he said. "I'll ask Itachi if he knows anything."

"Arigatou," whispered Hinata and she opened the car door, putting one foot outside. Quickly, she turned around and kissed him as she felt the itch of her thirst return, before jumping out of the car. "Ja ne!"

Hinata wished she had a camera at these times just to catch the look on Sasuke's face every time she caught him off his guard and waved as he pulled out of the driveway.

--

Biting her tongue, Hinata walked to the door and opened it, stepping inside lightly since the house was fairly dark. She was half expecting Neji to bolt down the stairs and shout about how late she was, but she guessed he was sleeping.

Closing the door behind her with a small click, Hinata tiptoed to the kitchen, not even turning the light on.

"So what did you do today?" asked a voice behind her and Hinata scream before she spun around to see Neji calmly looking back at her.

"I thought you were sleeping," said Hinata as she bit her tongue again to fight the sudden burst of itching. "I could have bitten you just now."

"I hardly sleep when you're out of the house and I think I've gotten accustomed to you biting me by now," Neji said with a small smirk.

Hinata went to the tap for a glass of water and downed it quickly and stifled a yawn.

"Neji turned on the light and sat at the table with Hinata, looking at her carefully. "Have you been crying?" he asked worriedly and he reached out to touch her cheeks.

"Hai," said Hinata absently but the look on Neji's face brought her to her senses quickly. "I wasn't crying because anything happened, I was watching Titanic with Sasuke before I came home."

Neji gave a sigh of relief. "I don't know what girls find so interesting about that movie if it makes them cry," he said.

"It's all about 'Jack,'" Hinata teased and Neji cringed.

"Let's just go get some sleep," said Neji standing up. "Are you sleeping by yourself or with me?"

"With you," said Hinata. "I have to tell you what I realized today."

"And what is that?" asked Neji as they went up the stairs and to her room to let her have a quick bath and change.

"Neji, can you remember anything about when we were younger?" asked Hinata as she showered, leaving Neji to sit on the closed toilet and wait.

The room was silent for awhile apparently in thought. "Iie, I can only remember when we first came to this house. I never thought about it before."

"I can't remember anything either but yet Hanabi can remember when she was three years old," said Hinata and she stepped out of the shower, quickly grabbing a towel while Neji hid his eyes. "Do you think our memories were erased for a reason? You're not a vampire, but yet you can't remember anything either."

Hinata and Neji walked out to her bedroom and she changed into her usual sleep wear and Hinata sat down on the bed. "Do you think we can sleep here?" she asked and Neji nodded and took of his shirt and pants, getting under the covers in his boxers while Hinata went to turn out the light.

Hinata climbed in as well, but felt the sharp intense itch and winced.

"Are you okay?" Neji asked and took her wrist to her face, allowing her to take her blood. "Better?"

"Hai, arigatou," whispered Hinata and she cuddled up to Neji with her fingers splayed on his bare chest, entwining their limbs. "Sasuke said he'd help me find out about my mother and my clan."

"That's great," said Neji. "Maybe I can help you too."

"Arigatou," Hinata said and she hugged her cousin.

"Are you happy?"

Hinata looked up at Neji and saw the outline of his face in the dark. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean Naruto broke up with you only two weeks ago and you're already with Sasuke, his best friend," said Neji. "Aren't you getting too close too fast?"

Hinata frowned. "I don't think so; if Naruto can move on with his life then so can I," she said sadly. "I know Sasuke is his best friend, but I really like him. I thought you liked Sasuke."

"I do, but the two of you just slow down a little," said Neji.

Hinata hit him on the chest and sat up, leaning on her hand. "Are you worried for your younger cousin, Neji?" she asked innocently.

"It's only obvious I would be," Neji said. "But if you're happy, I'm happy."

Hinata looked down at him and leaned down, quickly pecking him on the lips. "Arigatou, Neji," she said and grinned as Neji turned his back to her.

"Don't kiss me when you've been smooching up Sasuke," said Neji in fake disgust. "And in any case, you know I'm not a feely- touchy person."

"Except with me!" Hinata said cheerfully and hugged him from behind.

"Just get some sleep," came the muffled voice of Neji and they soon fell asleep.

* * *

Sasuke felt like he was waiting forever for his brother to come home and sighed for the umpteenth time for the night- or morning, considering it was three in the morning. Hinata had not even been online and he hated to admit it, but he missed her already.

Before he could think anything else, Sasuke felt Itachi's presence in the house as everything became utterly still for a few moments before going back to normal and Sasuke got up and went to Itachi's room.

Knocking twice, Sasuke opened the door and swathe last of Itachi's crows disappear. Itachi took of his clock and sat on his bed.

"Do you always come home this late?" asked Sasuke sitting next to his older brother, feeling the darkness emanating from the other's skin.

"Iie," said Itachi as he took off his shirt. "I usually come home just before dawn to get a good hour of sleep."

"That's not funny, I was waiting to talk to you forever," Sasuke accused.

"I stopped to get a bite here and there, is that a problem, little brother?" Itachi asked. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Sasuke wasted no time beating around the bush, he needed to help Hinata find out where her clan was. "The night when you first came here, you said Hinata was pure and that she was forbidden to you and I want to know why you said that."

Itachi nodded. "I knew you'd ask about that," he said. "Why didn't you ask Hinata about it?"

"She can't remember anything and she doesn't know her clan," said Sasuke. "She thinks her memory was erased."

"I see. That's understandable given the situation," said Itachi. "Demo… no one is supposed to really talk about that, Sasuke."

"Why not?" asked Sasuke. "Is it something terrible?"

"To Hinata's mother's clan, it was," Itachi said. "I told you she's pure- or as pure as she could get seeing as her father isn't of her mother's clan as well."

"What do you mean by that," asked Sasuke curiously.

Itachi lay back on the bed and Sasuke followed both looking up at nothing in particular.

"Since Hinata's mother was from a pure-blooded clan, she was not to go outside the clan to find a mate but obviously she went against that and chose Hyuuga-san instead," started Itachi. "There are only a few vampire clans and even less pure ones, meaning there are clans that have only vampires in them unlike the Uchiha clan. Take you for example, you're part of out clan but you're not a vampire."

Sasuke thought for awhile. "Demo… If that's so, wouldn't that mean the clans are relatively small?"

"Not really," Itachi said. "Just because there are few vampires clans, it doesn't mean that the clans are small. Actually, the purest clans are the biggest for some reason. I guess it's because they don't venture out and mate with humans who can produce offspring without vampire instincts and as time goes on, eventually mixed clans get bleached out. With the pure clans, they live strictly by the laws and by that I mean, they basically live among themselves not really crossing paths with human if they can help it and they have only one child even though some female vampires may be lucky enough to have more than one offspring."

"So Hinata's mother was of a pure-blooded clan while we're mixed," said Sasuke deep in thought. "But she went against her laws and went with a human and not only that, she had two children and died in the process. That doesn't explain why Hinata's memory of her mother and everything else around that time period is gone."

Sasuke was sure Itachi would have sighed. "Hinata is… special, if you want to put it that way," said Itachi. Her mother was the first of a pure-blooded clan to stray with a human who had not converted and even worse, gave birth twice. I don't know the details since I'm not from that clan, but from the rumors Hinata's mother was renounced from her clan and that's probably why Hinata can't remember anything."

"So you're telling me that's why Hinata can't remember anything," asked Sasuke. "They removed all of her memories of them because they don't consider her a part of the clan since she's not fully pure."

"Exactly," Itachi agreed. "Even though the vampire blood in Hinata is more dominant than the human blood, the fact that she has any human blood at all, makes her an outcast. Did you ever notice the way Hinata's eyes look when she's thirsty?"

"Hai, there're almost colorless," said Sasuke.

"My point," Itachi said. "Unlike mixed clans whose eyes change a different color like Uchiha who have black eyes but they turn red, Hinata's clan, one of the pure clans, are completely different."

"Meaning…"

"Their eyes become completely void of any color, marking them as untouched by humans," Itachi explained. "Hinata's eyes remain tinted ever so slightly when she is thirsty and that makes her impure to her clan."

"So she's a half-blood then?" concluded Sasuke.

"Iie, _you _are a half-blood. Hinata is just different since no one has ever strayed from a pure clan before her mother," said Itachi.

"Do you know the name of her clan anyway?" asked Sasuke. He was really into talking to Itachi so much, never having been able to talk to him much because of the fine line between vampire and human.

Itachi shook his head. "I'm not allowed to speak of them, even talking to you about Hinata's past is risky because she has their blood."

Sasuke jumped onto the bed, kneeling Itachi. "Hinata needs to know, Aniki," Sasuke pleaded. "I want to help her and I know you want to help her too."

Itachi sighed this time, tired of his little brother asking him so many questions. He did not know the last time he talked so much. "It doesn't matter; they'll never accept Hinata as she is," he said.

"Is there a way they can then?" asked Sasuke more eagerly than he would have liked.

"Only if she is a full fledged vampire and she has a full fledged mate," said Itachi with half a smirk.

"Iie, certainly not you, Hinata's mine now," Sasuke said defensively. "Either way, she's not reached stage three yet."

"She can be if she really wants," Itachi said.

"Then I'll convert so she can see her family," Sasuke said with determination. "I told you I'll die for her if I have to and I will."

Itachi sat up suddenly, startling Sasuke in the process. "Well then, Sasuke, the name of Hinata's clan is…."

"Tell me, Itachi," pleaded Sasuke. If Itachi held back now, he did not know what he would have done.

"By telling you this, you just signed away your life as a human, Sasuke," Itachi said in all seriousness and Sasuke felt his skin burn with the aura of Itachi's threat. "Even though you are a part of the Uchiha clan, you are not a vampire and certain things must be kept from you. Information about the pure blooded clans is not even spoken lightly among our kind so consider yourself lucky that I'm in a good mood tonight."

"I'm not going back now, Itachi. I… I think I might be in love with her," Sasuke said softly and looked at his older brother to see a slight twitch of his lips as though he was trying not to smile. "Why else would I willingly want to convert for someone?"

Itachi nodded his approval.

"Hinata is from the Hitomi clan."

And unknown to Sasuke, Hinata was startled from her sleep the moment the words came from Itachi's lips.

* * *

**_There you have it people! I really hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing. I also hope that none of you are confused and if you want, you can ask me questions about the information in this chapter which I thought up completely on my own so I'm not sure if it may have in some glitches you can see since I don't read over my chapters- weird, ne? _**

**_If you have not read _****Princess Hina****_ or _****A Happy Ending****_, please do, I think you might like them._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja_****_ ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	18. Memories

**_Here is another chapter for you to feast your eyes on! I hope you like it and I'm sorry for the late update, I have a lot of reasons why but I won't bore you so let's get on with the fic._**

**_Excuse any errors… R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Memories**

--

Hinata woke up with a start in the middle of the night with sweat rolling down her face. Her head was hurting so badly it made her ears hum and behind her eyes throb painfully.

"Hinata, are you ok?" asked a sleepy Neji as he turned over to her.

"I… don't know," Hinata whispered. She looked at Neji as he sat up. "My head's killing me, Itai!"

The pain increased, making Hinata wince and grab her hair. She felt Neji pry away her hands for trying to pull out her hair and he hugged her tightly. "It's ok," he soothed and then he got up, much to Hinata's disappointment. "I'm going to get some water for you ok?"

H-hai," said Hinata, not daring to nod and aggravate her headache as she watched Neji go through the door.

Hinata gripped her hair again as another flash of pain washed over her. What was happening? Before she could even think straight, her mind went completely blank and Hinata fell unconscious not hearing or seeing anything else as her hands loosened their grip on her hair.

--

_"Hinata?"_

Hinata heard soft footsteps and then the pace quickened, getting closer. A small thud was heard as though something was set down and she could hear a voice; a familiar voice calling her name softly and felt her body lift from the fetal position it was in, only to be shaken.

_"Hinata?!"_

Hinata slowly opened her eyes to see the outline of her cousin's face looking at her worriedly.

"Hinata, are you ok?" asked Neji.

"I'm very far from being ok," replied Hinata with a bitter laugh. Her head was still hurting but there was something else now that was wrong… or right.

"Neji… I remember."

* * *

Sasuke watched the serious look on Itachi's face when he finished and knew that he was about to make the biggest sacrifice he had ever made.

"You have to convert by the end of this week," said Itachi. "When you're converted, you won't go through the three stages like born vampires. Instead you'll be fully thrown into it."

Sasuke shrugged. "Whatever," he said, but he was anxious.

"It doesn't work that way, Otouto," said Itachi. "Do you think it is easy to never eat again, to have to drink blood to survive? Live hiding the truth from humans and deceiving others close to you just to try to fit in this pathetic excuse for civilization?"

Sasuke looked away. He knew it would not be easy for him; it might even be worse than normal vampires, because they went through stages to get acquainted with the habits of vampirism. He was jumping straight into it and he had to learn fast or he would die from starvation- or should he call it dehydration?

"I know it's not going to be easy," Sasuke said with a sigh. "But you know I wanted to become a vampire since I was younger and this situation just gives me motivation."

Itachi nodded in understanding. "During the week, you and Hinata will have to go through a very short training," he said. "Yours will be worse and more challenging than Hinata's because Hinata is almost fully there. I'll let Sai know so that he can be a stage three with you."

"Hai. Is there a way I can make her remember her past?" asked Sasuke out of curiosity.

"Only if you are very close to her, she would remember or if someone jumpstarted her memory with a tap or bite," Itachi told him.

Sasuke got up from his position on the bed to go to his own room to settle his thoughts. "… Arigatou, Itachi."

"Whatever."

Sasuke went in his room and jumped onto his bed. He lay there for a couple of seconds just staring blankly before his face took on the widest smile he had ever allowed himself. He was finally going to be a vampire. He knew it was a cursed life, but the thought that he would be living forever with Hinata was more than enough to make his heart race.

Sitting up quickly, Sasuke schooled his face back to its normalcy. What was he doing, grinning like he had won the lottery or something? It certainly felt that way, but Sasuke knew he would have to pay a great price to collect his winnings.

But how was Hinata going to handle that she was going to have to be a stage three vampire by the end of the week so she could find her clan? How was she going to accept that she was going to have to be with him just to get close to them?

He had to tell her tomorrow and he hoped that she understood what he was doing for her. He hoped she was as willing as he was.

Sasuke ignored the noises in the house and put the pillow over his head to muffle the sounds as it had now become his habit in order to sleep and with one hand, he brought the sheets over himself and went to sleep, hoping Hinata took the news as good and not bad.

* * *

Hinata could no believe it. It was almost dawn and she was not the least bit tired. Instead she was sitting up staring at Neji as he stared back in utter disbelief at what she had just told him. The two of them just stared at each other forever, Hinata reaching over to take a sip of water to make sure she was still alive, even though she practically felt nothing at the moment. It was Neji who finally cracked.

"What do you mean… you remember everything?" asked Neji slowly.

The sound of his voice broke the daze Hinata was in. "I can remember my clan, I know what my mother looked like and how my other family looked as well but only little bits… the day she died and the day after that." She looked away from Neji.

xxx

_Little Hinata sat on the wall of the Hitomi compound where she was living. She somehow knew she was not accepted by the stares she given when she walked by with her mother and even worse when her father was there. He was not living with her and only visited on the weekends; he was not accepted either. It was one of the things little children naturally understood._

_Like how she knew her family was different because she never saw anyone go outside of the huge gates her father came through or how she somehow knew her mother was sick, very sick even when she tried to hide it with a smile. _

_Today her mother was with her while she ran in the field all by herself as usual since she was not allowed to play with the other children her age. She had heard an old wrinkly woman say she was not clean enough to be mixing with the others and never understood it. _

_Hinata did not care though because she had lots of fun running in the open field with her mother and also with bother her parents when her father came over once a week and he even brought over her cousin, Neji, once a month._

_Hinata's mother, Lyvi, told her she was going to be a big sister, that she would have to take care of the baby because she was a big girl. She let her touch her belly and feel the baby move and when she slept at night with her mother, Lyvi let her sleep on her belly and she hummed both her babies to sleep she said. She always wondered why she was not allowed a room of her own like she saw the other children have, but she was happy all the same that she spent her nights 'huggling' her Mommy._

_Hinata was excited today. Her father was supposed to come over and bring Neji with him. She ran to her mother, who was sitting on a blanket, and hugged her from the side and rested her on her belly and felt the baby moving as her mother ran her fingers through her hair._

_"Oka-san," Hinata started._

_"Hai?"_

_"When is the b-baby coming?" asked Hinata and she looked up at Lyvi, watching as the wind blew through her hair._

_"Very soon, Hina," her mother said softly. "Can you feel how excited he is to see his older sister?"_

_Hinata smiled up at her mother. "I'm having a baby b-brother ne, Oka-san," she asked and her mother nodded._

_"That's right, Hina," her mother said and she took out a sandwich from the small basket on her other side and gave it to Hinata, who chewed as she massaged the baby. _

_"How do you know it's a boy?" Hinata asked._

_Her mother smiled. "The baby's more active than you were, so I guess that means it's a boy, Hina."_

_"I'm finally going to have someone t-to play with!" Hinata said filled with glee. She couldn't wait to see the baby; her baby brother as her mother said._

_After they finished, Hinata lay across her mother's lap, careful not to harm the baby. _

_"Oka-san?"_

_"Hai, Hina," her mother answered._

_"Will the old people like my brother or will they look away like they d-do when they see me?" Hinata asked. _

_Lyvi sighed. "Hina, the 'old people' like you too," she said. "They just don't know how to." She gently prodded Hinata to get up and sat up straighter. "Let's go and greet your Otou-san and your cousin."_

_Hinata got up to her feet and held on the her mother's hand, trying to help her up as well, which was what she usually did even though she knew she was only helping a tiny bit. Her mother held onto her small hand. _

_"Arigatou, H-Hina!"_

_Hinata was almost dragged down towards her mother, when Lyvi gave a tug. When Hinata looked at her mother, she knew something was wrong._

_"Oka-san, you're wet!" Hinata said in alarm. Even she did not wet the bed, what was going on?_

_Lyvi released Hinata's hand and placed it on her belly as she propped herself up on the other, breathing heavily and scaring Hinata._

_"The baby's coming, Hina," her mother panted through labored breaths. "You're- you're Otou-san should be here by now, I can feel him close. You need to run as fast as you can and tell him _the baby is coming._ Do you understand, Hina?" Hinata could tell her mother was in a lot of pain. If a baby was the cause for such pain, why was she happy about it all this time when she was now in tears from the pain?_

_"Hai, Ka-san!"__ Hinata said and she ran off as fast as her leg carried her, hating to leave her mother in the field the way she was. Running straight through the yard and ignoring the yells from the old people, Hinata came to the gate just as her father and Neji got past the scary men._

_"O-otou-san!__ The baby, the baby!" Hinata said as she ran up to him and tugged on his pants. "The baby!"_

_All kinds of emotions Hinata did not understand flitted across his face and he bent down to her, grabbing her by the shoulders._

_"Where is she?" he asked and Hinata pointed towards to field. Hiashi rushed in the direction and turned back to Hinata and Neji, who looked worried. "Go tell Naomi- baachan you're mother going to have the baby!" and with that he was gone._

_Hinata took hold of Neji's hand and ran to the main house to find her grandmother. _

_"Hinata, I'm not supposed to go in there!" Neji protested, but Hinata dragged him along. Running through the corridors and up flights of stairs, Hinata came to her grandmother's room and banged on the door as loudly as she could. _

_"Help me, Neji!" she cried and Neji banged on the door as well until it opened to reveal a very angry woman._

_"What is the meaning of this!" she said crossly. "And what is he doing in the house, have you gone crazy, child?"_

_"The baby!"__ Hinata blurted. It was all she could say and she knew she got the job done when her grandmother pushed past her and Neji and rushed towards the stairs and into a room, coming out with two ladies in white jackets. Her grandmother shouted orders at them and one ran back to the room while the other ran with her with Hinata and Neji following wordlessly. _

_When they got to the entrance, Hinata saw her father carrying her mother, who was unconscious and he ran right past them to the room where the woman in the white jacket was. Hinata ran behind him, afraid of what was happening. Why was her mother not moving?_

_Suddenly, all the air was knocked from her when someone held her back and she looked up to see her grandmother; the woman who only looked at her if it was necessary._

_"You cannot go in there," she said and put her to sit on a nearby bench along the corridor. "You," she said pointing to Neji. "Don't let her come anywhere near the door or you'll never see here again." And with that, she and the other woman hurried into the room. _

_Hinata started to cry. "N-nii-san!" she sobbed and held onto her cousin. "Oka-san!"_

_Neji patted her head. "I know, Hinata. It's okay," his voice sounded as shaky as hers and Hinata could tell that he was just as terrified as she was._

_It was then that shouting was heard from the room and then a hair rising scream was heard, making a chill run right down Hinata at hearing her mother sound like that. She hugged Neji tightly and Neji did the same as more screams were heard. Her father came out of the room a long while after and kneeled down in front Hinata._

_"Are you ok, Hinata?" he asked and she shook her head truthfully. He looked across at Neji. "Are you, Neji?" He was met with a slight nod._

_"Otou-san, what's-" She was cut off by another scream and they all looked in the direction of the room as a dark eerie silence swept over the entire compound, only being broken by the cries of her mother. "What's happening?"_

_Hiashi hugged them both tightly. "You're mother's having problems with the baby," he said with a cracked voice._

_Then there were no more cries or screaming and the house was still before a different cry was heard; the crying of a baby. But… something was wrong and Hinata could feel it._

_"My baby!"_

_It was Hinata's grandmother. Some thing was very wrong._

_Hiashi got up quickly and ran to the door of the room and flung it open, staring into the room before he bolted in. _

_"No!"_

_Never in her life had Hinata heard her father sound like that. Never had she felt so afraid as she gripped Neji's hand with her shaking one._

_Tears streamed down both her and hers and Neji's faces and then her father came out of the room holding a small bundle as tears ran down his face. It made Hinata feel as though her chest would explode to see her father look so defeated._

_Hiashi walked towards Hinata and Neji and stooped. There, wrapped in his arms, was the small baby that was inside of her mother earlier that day._

_"Hinata," he said. "Say hello to your new… baby sister."_

_Hinata looked at him and then at the baby and back again. "S-sister?"_

_"Hai, Hinata. Your baby sister," her father confirmed. "Her name is Hanabi."_

_"Demo… Oka-san said I was having a baby brother," Hinata said confused. She looked at the baby and saw that it did look similar to what she looked like when she looked in the mirror except the baby's light hair was the color her father's hair was. "Where's Oka-san? Can I see her?"_

_Immediately, another tear slipped down her father's face and it alarmed her. "Otou-san?"_

_"You did this!"_

_All of their heads turned to see Naomi storming from the room with blood all over her hands. She rushed up to him. "This is your fault! My child is dead because of you!"_

_One of the women in the white jackets now also splattered with blood came out of the room with a sad look and stood beside Naomi._

_"Nikato, take the baby," she said and Hiashi turned away from the woman._

_"You can't take my child from me!" he shouted._

_"You took mine from me!" Naomi shouted back and the baby started to cry, filling the room with even more noise as Hinata tried to understand what her father and grandmother were saying. _

_"Do you think I wanted my wife to die?!"_

_The entire compound was so silent, it made Hinata's ears ring. Even the baby stopped crying as Hiashi sank to the floor, holding Hinata's baby sister close to him as he began to sob. "I loved Lyvi… so much."_

_Hinata was rooted to the spot. Her mother was dead?_

_Hinata ran past everyone ignoring the shouts for her to stop and pushed open the closed door to find the other woman gently wiping the face of her mother, who was completely still. The woman turned to her._

_"Oh Kami!__ Hinata you're not supposed to be in here," she said, but Hinata ignored the woman and went to her mother's side._

_"Oka-san," she said softly. Hinata could feel her skin pounding against her bones as she stared at the pale woman in the bed. "Oka-san?"_

_There was no answer, no smile… nothing._

_"The baby's here, Oka-san," said Hinata as her eyes stung. "You said the baby would be a boy, but it was a girl. She doesn't look like us, she looks like Otou-san."_

_She held her mother's cold hand. "Don't you want to see the baby?"_

_There was still no answer and Hinata looked up at the bloody woman who looked down at her with tears in her eyes and knew her mother would never look at her again or talk to her or 'huggle' her again- as her mother called it. Never run in the fields with her and hum her to sleep. She was gone._

_"Oka-san!"_

_The woman rushed to her and picked her up running out of the room to the commotion outside while Hinata kicked and screamed for her mother. "Let me go! Oka-san!"_

_The woman set her down in front of her grandmother, who for the first time, held her hand._

_"Don't touch her," Hiashi said angrily as he held the baby still. "You can't do this!"_

_Clearly Hinata had missed something. Her grandmother had both hers and Neji's hands holding who looked so frightened it sent chills from her head to her feet because she never saw him look like that._

_"Yes I can and I will," Naomi seethed. "My only daughter is dead because of you and that child you hold right now and I'm going to put an end to it. I lost my husband two hundred and fifty-three years ago and now because of you, I've lost my daughter. You. Will. Pay!"_

_Hinata was dragged towards the entrance and saw that it was no longer Saturday but Early Sunday morning and realized she was inside longer that she thought but had no time to dwell on it because she and Neji were pulled into a shrine with her father following them._

_"You can't do this to them," he shouted after them. _

_Naomi did not respond and instead she threw Hinata and Neji to the floor. Hinata looked up at her grandmother and saw that she was completely different now. She could feel all the hair on her skin standing and knew something was wrong. Hinata looked past Naomi to look at her father, who was relatively helpless because he was holding her baby sister who was once again crying. _

_"Please, she's too young," her father pleaded as he tried to hush the baby and at the moment, Hinata forgot what her name was. "You'll kill her!"_

_Naomi looked back at him. "If I wanted to kill her, I would have even before she was born. I gave you and the child a chance and you should be grateful this is all I'm doing," Naomi said. "The boy was never of any concern to me; he's not even worthy of what I'm about to do and I only let him come here to keep the child company to keep my daughter happy."_

_Naomi then looked at Hinata and Neji who were cowering before her. "Sit up straight," she said and they both did as was asked._

_"Don't do it, she's needs to remember her mother! How can you take that away?!" Her father screamed above the baby's crying and he rushed forward, only to be held back by the elbows by the two women covered in blood. "You bitch!"_

_Naomi ignored him and glared at Hinata. "Gomen, child but this has to be done."_

_Hinata was shoved by her face to the floor and a great wave of pain shot through her head and burned her eyes._

_"No!"_

_And then she heard no more…_

xxx

By now Hinata was crying as she told Neji the last of what she remembered and as she looked at him there were unshed tears.

"Nii-san!" Hinata cried and hugged her cousin tightly. "I didn't even get to tell Oka-san good-bye."

Neji rocked her gently. "I wish I could remember and share it with you so much, Hinata," he said softly.

Hinata held on to Neji for dear life, trying not to yank her hair from her skull because of the utter pain and directly after that, a pang of thirst surged through her so fiercely, Hinata barely had time to warn Neji because of the sight of his neck right before her eyes..

"Neji!"

Neji moved just in time before Hinata tried to bit him and she fell into a daze, only seeing the meal in front her. The pale bare neck and shoulder for her to sample.

_"Oh crap!"_ she heard vaguely and then she was pushed down on the bed with her food straddling her. _"Here!"_

Then a wrist was there and she took it, savoring the fact that it was not her own blood, but the familiar sweet one she had more than once and she sighed as the warm slick liquid rushed down her throat until she was full. It was then that she came to her senses and looked up at Neji who was looking down at her as though confused and then he bent down and hugged her tightly without putting too much weight on her.

"You didn't pass out this time," he said. "And you didn't take that much blood either." Then his hold tightened even more. "Hinata, I don't know what happened just now, but I remember too."

Hinata was so surprised, she flipped him over with what little of the strength she had from her daze. "You do?!" she said. "How?"

Neji held onto her waist as she sat on him to steady her. "I don't know, but when you bit me, It triggered something and when you had finished told me about what happened those days, somehow you awakened more because look at you… you're not feeling the effects like you used to."

Hinata remained still for a moment, gauging herself. "Your right, Neji." Then she saddened once more. "You remember what happened?" she asked and saw Neji's face mirror hers.

"… Hai." He pulled her down and wiped the blood from her mouth and stained the sheets with it. "It'll be ok, Hinata," he said. "Can you get back to sleep?"

Hinata nodded, feeling incredibly tired from the night and now early morning's events and yet she had to wake up in less than an hour. "I can certainly use the half hour of rest," she said with a smile and almost immediately fell asleep on her cousin as he stroked her hair.

She hoped Sasuke would take the news well.

* * *

**_Yay! It's finished. I hope it was worth the wait and I'm so sorry for breaking my promises of longer chapters if I don't update as soon as I should and all that stuff. I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing and I know there was not much- if any- humor in it, but I liked the essence of this chapter, even though it was sad._**

**_As I always say, if you have never read _****A Happy Ending ****_or _Princess Hina**** _you can do so until I update again._ **

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja_****_ ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	19. The First Steps Of Training

**_Hi! _**

**_Here's my new chapter. I really hope you enjoy it, excuse any errors- I realize I've been making quite a few, maybe I should read over my fics before I post them- and R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 19: The First Steps of Training**

--

Sasuke was shaken awake barely an hour after he had drifted to sleep. He tried to swat away the hands but his pillow was dragged from over his head and was replaced by a slap.

"Get up, it's dawn," he heard.

"Ugh… Itachi go away," Sasuke mumbled. "I bare lt had any sleep and you know that."

He was slapped again, this time around his head. "What the hell! Get away!"

"Get up. How can you be a vampire if you can't wake up at dawn?" asked Itachi. "And how can you sleep with a pillow over your head? You could suffocate, idiot."

Sometimes Sasuke really hated the fact that Itachi treated him like he treated Naruto. "I'm not a vampire yet," he argued, only to be pulled right out of bed from inhuman strength- he hoped he would get that too.

"You have to get used to it," Itachi told him and pushed him straight through the door and into the bathroom and turned the shower on, making Sasuke thank Kami that it was not cold water. It was then that he realized that he was no longer in his boxers.

"How did you do that?" asked Sasuke about to cringe.

"When I pulled you out of bed, it came off so I just pushed you straight in the bath," explained Itachi and he turned away to walk out of the bathroom. "I'll see you in the kitchen."

Sasuke pulled the shower screen across and finished his bath, feeling grumpy at having to wake up so early. He did not see why he had to since he barely had any sleep the night before. Sure Itachi was probably up before he was and he didn't look the least bit tired, but he was a vampire, he was used to it and Sasuke banged his head on the wall in front him letting the warm water run through his hair. Maybe he should just get over and try to cope.

Turning off the shower after he was done, Sasuke got out, toweled off and went back to his room to dress for school while grumbling about it was too early to even thinking about getting out of bed.

When he got there, Itachi was not there and Sasuke remembered that he was in the kitchen so he took out his clothes and got ready for the day. He didn't know how Hinata dealt with having to wake up in the wee hours of the morning but he figured it would come naturally when he converted as well.

The others in the house seemed to be up already from the sound of Naruto talking rather loudly and the soft sounds of Sai and Kin's voice from upstairs. Neji and Hanabi must be up as well since they must have gotten used to Hinata waking so early, especially Neji, who had to give Hinata blood on mornings. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like mourning for the sleep he was going to lose.

And while he was on the thought of losing anything, Sasuke couldn't help but think about the fact that he was no longer going to be able to eat. Sure, he hardly ate anyway, but he enjoyed it all the same. It was then that Sasuke decided to eat to his hearts content for the rest of the week, he didn't care what Itachi said.

On his way to the kitchen, Sasuke met up with Naruto and Karin who had been trying to avoid him for weeks. He had warned Naruto to stay away from Hinata in the nicest way he could manage but somehow the incident had caused a rift between them.

The couple were laughing and talking as normal until they saw the Uchiha, stopping short.

"It's not like the world doesn't know about you two," Sasuke said as he walked with them. "I'm not going to bite you or anything Naruto. Karin does enough of that." Immediately Naruto's face dropped and his cheeks flamed.

"Sasuke, you teme!" he retorted. "Don't say those kinds of things, she only bit my wrist when she was sick."

"Whatever."

Sasuke picked up his pace and went to kitchen and sat at the table, wondering where Itachi was when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking up he saw his older brother standing over him with a packet of blood.

Karin took out juice from the fridge and Naruto took a cup of ramen from the cupboard and poured hot water from the tap in it and they both left with Karin telling Naruto she was going to get a Ziploc now that she saw the one Itachi with one and it made her thirsty.

"Hell no, Itachi," Sasuke said, refusing before Itachi even spoke a word. "I'm not drinking that, I don't know who it's from."

"What about when you turn and you haven't had a bite for the day and your thirst acts up and you refuse to drink blood. You'll pass out Sasuke," Itachi told him, trying to hold back his impatience. Sasuke looked at the think liquid in the Ziploc and poked it, feeling it was warm.

"You keep it warm?" Sasuke asked, mildly disgusted.

"Would you like to drink cold blood?" Itachi asked with a look that was not to pleasant and shoved the pack in Sasuke's lap, making the younger boy jump from the sloshing blood. "Do I have to drink all of this?"

"No you don't, just a sip a day… here," Itachi took the pack from him and carried it to the sink and pinched it as he got a glass, then he poured a small amount in the tall glass and poured the rest in another glass that was probably for him. He gave Sasuke the glass. "Personally, I like my blood fresh, but I'll drink with you this morning."

Sasuke eyed the blood that was staining the glass as he swirled it around and sniffed it, inhaling the somewhat raw essence. The smell alone made him feel sick.

Sasuke heard Itachi sigh and watched as his older brother went to the fridge and took out two rice balls and an apple and put them on the table, then he took out a small box of juice. "Eat first if you want."

Sasuke ate his breakfast slowly, wishing he could just eat the crappy food as long as possible and Itachi waited patiently until he was done, pushing the glass closer to him as he, himself, raised his glass to sip from it.

"You've got to learn to get used to it," Itachi told him as he took a drink. "It's a lot like food, blood from different sources never taste the same."

"The all feel the same grimy, sticky way though," Sasuke contradicted. He took a deep breath before lifting the glass to his lips, holding his breath.

"Pfft… and you want to be a vampire because you love Hinata," scoffed Itachi and Sasuke knew he was trying to get him to drink it faster. He despised the fact that he wanted to just to prove him wrong. "Some love."

Sasuke had heard enough and he downed the blood, feeling it slide along his tongue like oil, coating his mouth as he struggled to swallow the warm liquid.

"Well?" his brother asked, but Sasuke had not heard him because he rushed out of the kitchen when he felt his stomach give somersaults from the foreign substance he tried to feed it. Sasuke put is hand to his mouth to stop from spewing his breakfast in the corridor as he ran to the closest bathroom. Not even having the time to lift the toilet seat, he emptied his stomach in the sink, heaving everything as he turned on the tap to wash everything down.

He felt Itachi come in behind him and sat on the closed toilet seat, his naturally deathly aura filling the room.

"I hadn't expected you to do this," Sasuke heard Itachi say.

Sasuke washed out his mouth and his face then dried as he turned to his older brother and saw he had a glass with the same amount of blood in it as before, holding it out to him. "There's no frigging way I'm drinking that stuff again, Itachi."

"You need to have it in your system everyday before you turn or there's a very high chance you'll die during conversion, Sasuke," Itachi told him. Every time the older Uchiha opened his mouth, there was some new rule he brought out.

The smell of the blood when Itachi shoved the glass into Sasuke's nose, hit him hard and Sasuke found himself over the sink again dry heaving.

"Sasuke get yourself together," Itachi said impatiently. "You've been living with vampires your whole life."

"I know that," Sasuke hissed, frustrated that he couldn't even go through what had to be the easiest step of preparing for the change. He drank to contents and slammed the glass on the countertop, grimacing as the warm liquid slid down. "There, what else?"

"Unlike born vampires who have to go through stages, you will have to be a full vampire. Therefore there are some thigs you have to learn to do. Today, you'll learn how to avoid extreme sunlight," said Itachi as he stood up and walked through the door past Sasuke, making the younger sibling follow. "It's not that hard to do."

"I know how to do that, I see you do it all the time so you can be at school," Sasuke said. "You always keep the jacket on, skip P.E go outside only under the cover of clouds and keep under the shade of trees and buildings."

Itachi nodded. "Good, you'll try to do that today. Hinata won't have to because without her knowing, she does all of that except skipping P.E because since we came back to school, the younger students do the class inside."

"Anything else?" asked Sasuke, feeling better now that his stomach had settled.

"Iie, the first day is the easiest, you just had to drink a small amount of pigs blood to get used to the feel of blood because you're not ready for human's blood yet."

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks. "P-pig's blood?" he asked, feeling the familiar taste of bile rise. He refused to run back to the bathroom.

"Hai," Itachi confirmed. "You have to drink it three times today and twice tomorrow and then human's blood."

Sasuke felt a chill run down his spine from the absolute disgust he was feeling and his skin crawled. "I'm going to the kitchen to see if I can keep down some food."

No wonder the blood smelled raw. It wasn't the usual metallic scent he knew. It tasted bitter too now that he remembered. Taking out juice from the fridge, Sasuke gulped it down to get rid of the taste in his mouth and grabbed another rice ball out. And to think he had to drink the stuff two more times for the day and tomorrow as well. Just the thought made Sasuke feel sick.

* * *

Hinata woke up feeling the dull pain of her headache when she looked through her window not far from her, seeing the pale light of early morning. At least it was going away. Looking over, she saw Neji was still sleeping and she smiled as she swept his hair away from his face. They had been through so much together. She was lucky to have a cousin like him.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Neji sleepily as he peeped up at her.

"Nothing," Hinata answered, rubbing her eyes and pulling the sheets off to get up to have a bath. She was definitely going to have a long one. Neji sat up, grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down and before the itch could take effect, he gave her his wrist.

"You can at least lie down for awhile," he said as he winced while Hinata drank. "You hardly had sleep."

Hinata stopped for awhile, licking the wound. "I know that, but I don't feel tired at all so it's fine." She continued to drink.

"Ok," Neji said and he lay down again, letting Hinata splay herself over him as she suckled on his wrist before getting up. "I'll just lie here about a half hour more."

Hinata got her clothes and put them at the edge of the bed then went to the bathroom while biting her tongue. When she got in the bath, she filled up the bathtub and poured bath gel to make bubbles. Soaping the washcloth, Hinata sighed as the warm water soothed her skin.

She had to tell Sasuke what she found out. She didn't know where the clan was, but she was going to find it; she had to see where her mother was buried and talk to the witch of a grandmother she had.

Hinata heard the door open after awhile and she saw Neji's outline through the screen. "Have I been in here that long?" asked Hinata. She got up and unplugged the bathtub and stepped into the towel Neji was holding up for her. "Arigatou," she said. "Is Hanabi up yet?"

"Hai," said Neji as they went back to her room. Hinata dropped her towel and pulled on her uniform as Neji walked through the door. "I'm going to have a shower and stuff," he said and closed the door behind him.

After she was dressed, Hinata went down to the kitchen to see Hanabi there already eating her breakfast. "Ohayo," they both said. Hinata went to get a glass of water and sat down and then she bit her wrist.

"Are you ok, Nee-chan? asked Hanabi as she watched her sister. "I heard you crying and you and Neji talking, it woke me up."

"Gomen, I didn't mean to scare you," said Hinata after she had enough blood. "I had a terrible headache because I had a nightmare." Hinata didn't want to frighten her sister. It would be very difficult to explain what happened when she was born.

"I'm just glad you're ok," said Hanabi with a small smile which Hinata returned. Neji came into the kitchen, got his breakfast ready and sat with them.

"So Hanabi, what's this I hear about you getting in trouble for always passing notes in class," asked Neji lightly. "…to Konohamaru."

"H-how did you find out about that?" stammered Hanabi and Hinata couldn't help but to giggle.

"Everyone knows about it," Neji said as he ate. "You could have told me, you know. I'm not going to tell your father or anything like that."

"Really?! Thanks, Neji," Hanabi said and reached across to hug him but missed because he leaned away. "I forgot you aren't a touchy feely person. Thank you anyway."

After they were done, Hinata and the others left the house just as the maid's were coming in.

"Ohayo," they said. Hinata looked at one of the maids longer than she should and nearly bumped into the car. She looked really familiar. Pushing the thought out of her mind, Hinata got in the car and Neji took them to school.

* * *

When Sasuke got to school, he went straight to his locker and took out his books for the first period then went back to his seat. Gaara and Shikamaru were already at their seats, the latter sleeping heavily so Sasuke just talked to Gaara, adding to the sound of various conversations in the classroom.

They talked about homework, the latest music and the usual when Hinata and Neji walked in and came in his direction. Sasuke could tell Hinata was not feeling well. They both pulled up their chairs.

Neji started to talk to Gaara, giving Sasuke and Hinata time to talk as well.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

"I think so," Hinata said slowly.

"I have to tell you something," they both said and paused, waiting for the other to speak. "It's ok, you go first," he told her.

"I…. have something to tell you," she said. "It's about my clan, I found out stuff."

Sasuke gave her a small smile. "I found out about the clan too," said Sasuke.

"Really? Thank you for asking Itachi, I knew he would know something," said Hinata. "But anyways, last night- or this morning rather- something triggered my memory and Neji remembers too. I can remember the day and the morning after Hanabi's birth and… my mother's death."

Sasuke didn't want to be too close to her in public yet, so he gently touched her hand with his. "I hope it wasn't too hard on you." All the while he was thinking about how her memory could be back the same night Itachi told him about her past and then he remembered. What Itachi had said.

_Is there a way I can make her remember her past?_

_Only if you are very close to her, she would remember or if someone jump started her memory with a tap or bite._

That's it. Itachi spoke about her memory and he was pretty close to Hinata. Sasuke knew there was a very thin connection with a person once you drank some of their blood so that jogged Hinata's memory. Neji's memory came back probably after Hinata bit him.

"It hurt, but I'm not a crybaby anymore remember?" Hinata said with a bright smile, causing him to smile lightly at her. "So what did Itachi tell you?"

Sasuke told Hinata everything Itachi had said and it fit in with Hinata's memories perfectly.

"… so you can go see your clan next week I think," continued Sasuke. "I'll come with you."

Hinata shook her head. "They won't let you in. They didn't even want to allow my father in the compound or Neji."

"There's a way," Sasuke said and he was about to tell her about them having to turn when Kakashi-sensei came through the door. Sasuke looked at his watch and realized how long they had been talking. It was just a minute before the bell for the first class to begin.

"I know you're all here today so just wait for your other teacher to come, ja!" said Kakashi and he sauntered right back through the door just as the bell rang.

"We'll talk about it at lunch time," said Sasuke and Hinata nodded as she and Neji carried their chairs back to their desks and waited to start the first class.

As time passed, Sasuke prayed time would go by slowly. He wasn't looking forward to lunch break because that meant more pig's blood. The more he thought about it, the more it mad his insides churn and he tried to focus on the last minutes of the lesson that ticked by as quickly as Sasuke had ever seen.

He was in the middle of wondering what Hinata's training and Sai's would be like when the bell rang, bringing him out of his thoughts. The classroom was emptied in record time as the other students rushed to get their lunch. Sasuke really didn't want to see Itachi. He just wanted to go to the canteen, get lots of food, go on the roof and pig out while he was still able.

He saw Hinata walking through the door talking to her cousin and walked faster to catch up with them.

"Hinata, do you want to eat lunch with me today?" he asked when she was alone after Neji left while she was putting up her books in her locker. "We can talk about our findings better that way." And he would be able to maybe hide away from Itachi and his nasty pig's blood. What else would he try to poison him with before he turned cow's blood or a goat's?

"Ok, let's go get your food then," said Hinata and they went in the canteen line. When it was Sasuke's turn, he piled up the rice balls and other foods from the small buffet there, ignoring the looks he was getting from other students. "Sasuke are you going to eat all of that?" Hinata asked curiously. Sasuke then took up some puddings and milk and juice as well.

"I'm certainly going to try," he said and they walked away, Sasuke carrying the heavy tray of food. They got to the roof and Hinata took out her box of juice and a straw while Sasuke started on his own lunch. He never at behind such a large helping before but he was going to see how much he could eat. Of course, Hinata had never seen him eat so much either.

"Ano… Sasuke is there a reason why you're eating so much? She asked. "You're acting like it's the end of the world and you need to eat as much as possible before you die," she finished with a laugh.

"Actually, it kinda is the end of the world and I'm going to die," Sasuke said seriously and regretted the way he said it when he saw Hinata's face.

"Nani?!" she shrieked behind her hands, dropping her juice. "Are you serious?"

"Hai," said Sasuke calmly. "But I'm not dying for good, I'm converting and to do so I have to die," he added quickly.

Hinata still looked scared. "Is this what you had to tell me?" she asked.

"Hai, I'm going through training as we speak. I have to drink animal's blood and all that shit," said Sasuke. "Gomen," he said, seeing Hinata's pout at his language. He picked up his lunch and started to eat again.

"I don't want you to die for me, Sasuke," Hinata said slowly. "I only asked that you would help me find out about my clan."

That's what I'm doing," said Sasuke. "I want to convert so you can see your clan. They won't allow you in unless you're a full vampire and you have a mate."

"It's too much to ask of you," Hinata said and then her face brightened up as she realized something. "What do you mean… mate?"

Sasuke felt his cheeks burn as well. "I don't think we have to do _that_, I think it's just for appearances. Either way, I won't mind if we had to."

Hinata pushed him lightly. "Sasuke, you pervert," she said as she laughed. "Just finish your lunch."

When he had eaten as much as possible, Sasuke turned to Hinata.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" he asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I'm trying to hide from Itachi so I won't have to drink that stuff he nearly killed me with this morning," said Sasuke as they got up and walked down the stairs, leaving the rest of the food up there for the janitor to take up later as bad as they knew it was. "I know I'm supposed to and I know he'll find me no matter what, but I just want to postpone it as long as possible so will you hide with me?"

"I'm not so sure about that. We have class, we can't skip," Hinata said.

"We have Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke said. "You know that man's always late and won't notice if we're gone."

He watched as Hinata thought long and hard. "Fine. But where will we hide?"

"We can just wait until the bell rings-" And as he said it the bell went. "There you go. Now that the bell has gone, we can wait until all the students are gone and take refuge in one of the bathrooms."

"I'm not going in the boy's bathroom," Hinata protested even before Sasuke said anything. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, let's stay here until the coast is clear," he said and they sat on the lower steps of the stairs. They sat in silence waiting as they heard the shuffling of the students before everything was muffled because they were in their class rooms and Sasuke stood up and took Hinata's hand, pulling her up. "Let's go."

He led her down the green corridors and looked around to make sure no one was around. Just as Sasuke was about to open the door, he heard a voice behind him.

"What do you two think you're doing?"

Sasuke looked around to see Lee who was on patrol duty.

"What does it look like," asked Sasuke. "Can't you see she's sick? I was opening the door for the girl."

Lee looked at Hinata and back at Sasuke. "Ok then. What a very gentleman-like thing to do," he said cheerfully. "You are certainly not the snob I thought you were but quite the youthful individual."

"Whatever, just go you're making her headache worse," Sasuke said. "I'm sure I heard some footsteps that way."

Lee did a fake salute. "Arigatou, Sasuke." He turned to Hinata. "I hope you feel better." And he went in the direction that Sasuke had pointed in.

"What a waste of three minutes that I'll never get back," said Sasuke as he opened the door and took Hinata with him. He then took some tissues and wiped off the counter before leaning on it and Hinata did the same. "And now we hope Itachi doesn't find me soon and shove blood down my throat."

"I don't think Itachi would do that," said Hinata giggling.

"You don't know him that well then," Sasuke said. "I swear he's making up this training to torture me or something. "I hope you don't have to go through this kind of stuff for your training."

"My training?" asked Hinata. "What do I have to train for?"

"Itachi said you have to go through a short training before you turn completely," Sasuke explained. "It should be esier than mine."

"Ok, I understand," Hinata replied.

There was a long stretch of comfortable silence before Hinata cleared her throat to speak.

"Sasuke," she said barely above a whisper. "I'm scared. Scared that they still won't like me."

Sasuke turned to Hinata and gently touched her cheek, feeling the warmth there from the slight thirst. "It's ok. I'll be with you the whole time. I'd like to see this grandmother of yours and teach her a few words from my vocabulary. How can anyone not like you?"

Hinata bit her lip to hold back her obvious smile and Sasuke found it hard to stop looking at her lips. When he looked back at her, he saw she was looking down at his lips as well and leaned in, kissing her softly as she turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer.

He could feel her lips pulsing and knew she was itching but if she got too far, he would tap her wrist. The kiss went from a reassuring kiss to a passionate one when Hinata bit on his lip, tugging him closer still and Sasuke slipped his tongue against hers. He could feel her edged teeth raking on his tongue and lips cutting them and making him taste his own blood.

The blood seemed to spark more intensity in Hinata and she pushed Sasuke back on the counter then pulled away to look at him. He could see she was already blinded by her thirst as her eyes were almost void of any color. He watched as her eyes trailed down to beneath his collar, making Sasuke smirk. He held her shoulders.

"Iie, you can't bite me yet," he said. "Maybe later this week."

Sasuke then changed positions, pining Hinata to the counter and kissed her fiercely not minding she was bruising his lips with her teeth.

* * *

Hinata knew she was in her daze but all she could think about was that Sasuke was going to convert to help her and that was on Neji level for her. She was so happy, she didn't care that they were in the girl's bathroom and she was pinned against the counter. All she was interested in was how good Sasuke's blood tasted; she needed more.

She parted from their kiss and decided to get to his neck slowly, biting and sucking on his bruised lip and kissing his chin until she went down to the crook of his neck. Hinata nipped him softly.

"Hey, you're not supposed to do that remember?" said Sasuke, not making an attempt to stop her.

"I'm not going to bite you," whispered Hinata as she continued to kiss and suck on Sasuke's neck, leaving trails of bruises.

"But you're going to leave lots of hickies," Sasuke protested. Hinata smiled on his skin then bit him hard but not to break the skin.

"I've managed to repress my thirst," she said licking at the particularly large purple bruise.

"Oh really?" Sasuke asked mischievously and he held her by her waist, lifting and putting her on the countertop. Hinata held on to Sasuke's shoulders and pulled him in for another kiss, feeling her control slipping away and the world spin under her eye lids. The counter was short and Sasuke was fitted between her legs. Hinata then wrapped her legs around him, locking her ankles and she could feel his erection against her, heightening her senses even more and she grinded her hips on his, feeling more aroused than ever at feeling the wetness between her legs, their breathing heavy.

Hinata broke the kiss again. She unzipped his jacket and he helped her take it off and tried to widen the T-shirt collar to get better access to his neck and shoulders as she pushed her hand under his shirt to feel his flat, hard stomach.

Sasuke then pulled down her suspenders and pulled her shirt out of her skirt and ran his hand under to trace circles around her naval with his other hand inching up her skirt along the inside of her thighs until he came to the shorts she was wearing.

"What's with the shorts?" he asked her with a smirk.

"I don't know, it's decent," Hinata replied gasping when she felt him try to tug the shorts to the side.

"I hardly think what we're doing is decent."

Sasuke kissed Hinata and inched his fingers around her shorts and met with her panties as his other hand crept over her bra, cupping her breast.

"I certainly don't think it is either, Sasuke."

Hinata's eyes flew open as she ripped her lips from Sasuke's for the umpteenth time and looked over his shoulder to see the older replica of the boy between her legs. "Itachi!" She had not even heard him open the door- if he did; didn't even feel his presence.

"Shit!" Sasuke cursed and quickly removed his hands from their temporary abode.

"I don't think what you two are doing is very appropriate," said Itachi from at the door. "Get from between there, fix yourself and get out here."

"Fine, just go away," said Sasuke as he pushed in his shirt and took up his jacket, pulling it on. Itachi shut back the door

Hinata slapped her knees together as soon as he was gone, feeling her thirst was still on overdrive.

"Take your wrist, Hinata," Sasuke told her and took her hand and gave it to her.

When she was done, she hopped down from the counter and pushed in her shirt, buttoning the top and pulling her suspenders back over her shoulders, fixing her collar. Her daze was gone and she realized what she had been doing. Blushing, she looked at Sasuke and saw his neck riddles with brushes and bites.

"Are you ok?" Sasuke asked her. He had his eyes shut.

"Hai, are you?" she asked, bending to pull up her socks that had slid down.

"Tell me something really gross," Sasuke answered and Hinata looked at him like he was mad.

"Ano… ok." She thought hard. "Karin naked."

"Oh Kami, please spare me," said Sasuke with a disgusted look. "Have you ever noticed how she's way off balanced?"

"Yeah it's really noticeable," Hinata said holding back a laugh. "Naruto has to wake up the late bloomer."

She got a laugh out of Sasuke. "Who knew you would say something like that, you're full of surprises." She saw him look down. "All good now."

They both walked out of the bathroom and saw Itachi leaning on a nearby locker and he had something in his hand.

"Hello Hinata," said Itachi coolly. "You can go to class now, I told your teacher you and Sasuke had to come with me on personal business, but I can see you two were getting more than personal." He turned to Sasuke. "You should know better than to behave like that, and in a school. What were you thinking?"

Sasuke looked away. "I'm not a child, don't baby me," said Sasuke.

Hinata smiled at the brothers. "I'm going to class ok?"

They both nodded and she started to walk away.

"By the way, Hinata," said Itachi. Even though she was some distance from him and he spoke in his usual calm voice, it carried. She looked back at him. "Your training starts from tomorrow."

Hinata nodded and smiled as she went to her locker to get her books for the remainder of her class. As she took out her books, Hinata couldn't help but wonder what her training would be like and how she would cope with it. Being a vampire was so hard. She hoped Sasuke would be okay taking such a big step in his life for her.

* * *

Sasuke glared at his older brother as he saw him reach into his pocket and take out a small vial with the blood and held it out to him. Sasuke snatched the tiny cylinder and opened it, the smell filling his nose.

"Just take it and you can go to class," said Itachi lightly.

"I don't see you with some to drink," said Sasuke. "And this morning you didn't drink any either."

"I had my share when I was turning," Itachi said. "I had a bite already though so I'm full."

Sasuke drank the blood and gave the vial to Itachi, trying to swallow the offending liquid. "I'm going to be so glad when this is all over, "he said.

"It will be over in a week so get over it. I turned when I was a lot younger with you and I dealt with it," said Itachi. "You can go to class now." And with that, Itachi disappeared in a swirl of black wings, leaving Sasuke alone in the corridor to walk back to his locker to get his books for the next class since the current one only had a few more minutes to go.

What better way to pass the time than to go to the drink machine and get a drink to wash away the bitter taste of the pig's blood?

--

The last few minutes for class were here and Sasuke could still feel his insides squirming. He couldn't wait to get home and just eat then sleep. He didn't even bother about doing his homework, one day wouldn't kill and if the worse came it would simply be detention.

The bell rang and Sasuke gathered his books and everything else to carry to his locker.

"Sasuke!"

He turned as he was closing the door to see Hinata smiling at him. "Hey."

"I hope the pig's blood wasn't too bad," whispered Hinata.

"Ugh! Don't remind me, I can still taste the bitterness," Sasuke told her.

"I've never tasted any other blood other than from human so I wouldn't know, but I think you'll like human's blood in time. I've got to go." She flashed him another smile and ran towards the exit where Neji and Hanabi were and waved back at him cheerfully.

Sasuke did not feel like driving so he asked Itachi to drive him home. When he got there, Sasuke went straight for the kitchen and took out every available food that was there.

"Are you trying to gain weight or something?" asked Sai when he came through the door with Kin.

"I'm trying to eat as much as I can before all I have to live on is blood," replied Sasuke. "Did Itachi tell you that you have to turn with Hinata and me?"

"Hai, he told me sometime this morning," said Sai. "How are you taking it?"

Sasuke scoffed at the question. "Not too well. I have to drink all sorts of nasty stuff like pig's blood today and tomorrow and who knows what else."

"It's not that bad. Itachi's actually going easy on you because you'd probably be living in the bathroom right about now, kissing the porcelain," Sai explained.

"Thanks a lot, I feel much better," said Sasuke. "I don't see you having to do anything."

"Because he's almost a stage three already," said Kin. "Sai doesn't really have to do much until the day before."

"Anyway, see you later," the couple said and left Sasuke in the kitchen to raid the fridge and any other food supplier nearby.

He was going to go to bed early as soon as he took the blood and sleep like there was no tomorrow. He knew he would still be able to sleep, but the more the better.

After he was sure he had eaten more than enough, Sasuke got up and went to his room. The room was bright and Sasuke found he had to close his curtains. He lay on his bed rubbing his eyes because they were itching him more than they should.

"I see it's starting," came his brother's voice. He felt the bed shift as his brother sat at the edge of the bed.

"How can it? It's only pig's blood," said Sasuke with his eyes closed.

"You are half-blood remember? The process is going to be quicker than converting a human," said Itachi. "For instance, if Naruto wanted to convert it would take him a month of training and it would be very painful unlike the small itching you are experiencing right now."

"And I'm not sorry for him at all," said Sasuke with a short laugh.

"You shouldn't let the past hang on to you for so long, Sasuke" Itachi said.

"I know, but he was such an idiot for what he did to Hinata. Sometimes I find it hard to forget even though Hinata has," said Sasuke. A glass was put in his hand.

"Here, this is the last dose for the day," Itachi told him and then he got up. "It would do well to not convert with a heavy heart because it can cause problems."

"What kind of problems?" asked Sasuke, genuinely interested.

"When you're going through conversion, your body will go through drastic changes so you can't take a load with you," Itachi said walking to the door. "If your heart is too laden down with emotions, it will be difficult to switch. It could cause you your life."

Sasuke watched in silence as his brother disappeared in his usual way, not even opening the door.

Maybe Itachi had a point. He was willing to die for Hinata but to become the undead, not to really die. He had to get rid of his awkwardness with Naruto and settle things between all of them if he and Hinata were going to make it. Dragging along old emotions was not a good thing for a relationship and he was going to make sure it worked out.

Rubbing his now sore eyes from all of the rubbing, Sasuke opened his eyes to see a short flash of vivid color before his sight returned to normal. His training was going at a faster pace than he thought and he couldn't wait. The first steps of his training weren't so bad when he considered the outcome.

Sasuke got up and pulled off his clothes, leaving his boxers and reached into his pocket for his cell phone to text Hinata before she thought something was wrong when he didn't appear online. He could feel sleep overtaking him already even though it was quite early and knew it was the effects of the process he was going through.

Sasuke flopped into bed, putting his pillow over his head as was his usual habit, Sasuke drifted to sleep at five-thirty in the evening.

He hoped the rest of the week would run smoothly.

* * *

**_There you are readers. I hoped you liked this chapter because I really enjoyed writing it. I also hope that everything flowed well._**

**_As I always say, if you have not read _****Hina-hime ****_or _****A****Happy Ending****_, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja_****_ ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	20. Give and Take

**_Hi! Here's another chapter. Read _Hina hime _to get details on why I have not updated until today.__ I think you should like this chapter_**.

**_Beta'd by Reckoning in Death. _**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Give and Take**

**--**

Hinata woke up automatically at the break of dawn, untangling her limbs from Neji's. They had talked far into the night about her plans to find the Hitomi Clan and take on the stage three state.

Neji had no problem with it, but was a little concerned with the fact that she had to turn so soon. Hinata reassured him it was okay and that Itachi would be performing the conversion for not only her, but Sasuke and Sai as well.

He was very surprised to hear that Sasuke was willing to convert to help her but accepted it with a good heart, saying he trusted both her and Sasuke's decision. He even said he would convert for her instead but she didn't want him to end his purely human life for her.

Hanabi still knew nothing of this and Hinata was not ready to tell her either. She wanted to conceal it as long as possible and when she felt Hanabi was settled enough, she would tell her about what was happening.

When she told Neji last night, he agreed it would be best not to allow the younger girl to know the truth yet even though she had to know soon.

As Hinata sat up on the bed, she felt Neji stir beside her and looked at his relaxed state, smiling. She leaned down to kiss his cheek, biting her tongue the same time to quench some of her early morning thirst. As she did this, a small trail of blood slipped between her lips onto his face, causing Hinata to lick it away.

"Stop licking me," Neji said sleepily and held out his wrist for her to take. Hinata took his wrist without question, savoring Neji's unique taste. She sucked at his wrist, drinking her fill as she felt his heart rate quicken trying to replenish the blood he was losing somehow and sank her fangs in even deeper, causing Neji to moan.

"Not so deep," he said flinching and Hinata complied by removing her teeth to just suck and lick at the wound instead, liking the sweet flavor.

She then kissed the area to help soothe the pain Neji must be feeling and got up from the bed, letting Neji drift to a light slumber once more; he would wake soon to get ready as she took her bath as usual.

Hinata washed for a while, thinking about what her training would be like for the day. Sasuke had said that it would be easier than his own but Hinata did not doubt it would still be stressful and difficult for her.

Hearing the bathroom door open, Hinata turned off the shower and stepped out. She took the towel from Neji and toweled off as he walked through the door.

"I'm going to take a bath wake up Hanabi and get ready," said Neji. "See you in the kitchen."

Hinata put on her uniform and pulling up her suspenders, went down to the kitchen but she only saw Neji.

"Where's Hanabi?" Hinata asked as she sat down at the table after getting juice from the fridge. Neji sat down as well with his own breakfast.

"I went to wake her up because she's usually up around the same time we wake up," said Neji as he sipped some tea. "But it seems last night she was chatting well into the morning and now she's going to run a little late."

Just then Hanabi came waltzing through the door with her cell in hand, texting away and only looking up when she nearly bumped into the fridge. She took out some milk and made cereal, never taking her eyes from the screen of her phone.

"Hanabi," said Hinata, trying to get the girl's attention but got no answer.

"Hanabi," Neji said. When she did not answer him, he got up and snatched the device away from Hanabi who tried to take it back.

"What did you do that for?!" she asked not too politely. "I was in the middle of something.

"Well I'm going to end it," said Neji.

Hanabi made a face at Neji and started her breakfast. "It's not like I'm distracted or anything."

"What would you call it then?" asked Hinata. "Neji told me you couldn't wake up this morning because you've been up all night long chatting with Konohamaru. Surely he couldn't wake up this morning either."

"The next time I see you like this, I'll lock you computer and take away the phone for two weeks," said Neji seriously.

Hanabi sighed. "Fine," she said, rolling her eyes.

"No passing notes in class either," said Hinata as she got up to throw away the box she was drinking her juice from.

"You would think you two are my parents the way you act," said Hanabi and got up from the table to get the rest of her things for school, leaving Hinata and Neji in the seemingly suffocating room.

"I only want what's best for my sister," Hinata said softly. "Is that too much?"

Neji got up from the table and hugged her from behind as she was leaning on the sink. "Iie, of course not. I want what's best for her too but you know she's just like her father… stubborn."

Hinata smiled and turned to Neji to give him a hug and a light peck on his lips. He wiped it off.

"What did I tell you about kissing me?" said Neji, dragging Hinata through the door. "Let's get our things for school."

* * *

On the way to school, Sasuke's stomach was churning from yet another dose of pig's blood. He was so glad he would not have to drink it after lunch and maybe start on human's blood. According to Sai, Itachi had spared much of the torture he would have had to go through but that did not mean it wasn't hard to do.

Just the thought of the raw smell and the bitter taste of foreign blood made Sasuke's head spin as Itachi drove him to school with the others behind them in the other car.

"Has your stomach settled yet?" asked Itachi, looking at him.

"Shouldn't you be keeping your eyes on the road?" Sasuke asked to change the subject.

"It doesn't matter, I can drive with my eyes closed and it wouldn't make a difference," said Itachi. "Now back to how you're feeling."

"I'm fine," said Sasuke. "My sight has improved so much as though I had a screen over them or something."

"That's normal," said Itachi. "Just follow my instructions over the next few days and you'll be fine."

Sasuke did not reply, just looking through the window at the passing trees and buildings. Although he was nervous about converting, Sasuke never felt more excited. He was finally taking the steps to being what he always wanted to be. A vampire: not just a half-blood- son and brother of vampires. He would experience what they did and even if it was going to be uncomfortable, he was going to try to live through it.

Deep in his thoughts, Sasuke did not realize Itachi had pulled into the car park and turned off the car.

"We're here," Itachi said. "Morning rays are always the worst because it's the purest light of the day. Avoid it when you can even more because you're skin will be sensitive right now."

Now that he mentioned it, Sasuke did find that his towel felt coarse earlier; it was his skin?

Sasuke got out of the car, silently grateful the school had so many trees to block the brighter rays of the light. He watched as Itachi got out and walked behind him to the entrance, watching his every move. How he glided as though he had invisible wings and almost unnoticed, he shunned extreme sunlight with Sasuke following suit.

Sasuke's eyes were burning with the bright light, causing him to blink repeatedly. That did not matter to him at the moment though, because everything was greener and richer with life. The drops of dew sparkled on the leaves and grass and the sky was bluer than he had ever seen it, his vision sharper than ever. He was able to pick up the slightest movements and disturbances in the area.

He could get used to this.

Sasuke walked through the gates up the steps and through the corridors to his classroom, Itachi going in another direction. Behind him, he could actually feel that Naruto and the others were following him to class as well. It was then that he remembered what Itachi had said about leaving the past behind.

Sasuke turned around to face the four, causing them to stop.

"Naruto, come here a minute," said Sasuke and walked in the direction of the gym.

When he got there, he sat on one of the benches and Naruto sat as well. Sasuke could feel how nervous he was, it was radiating in waves.

"I don't see why you're so tense," said Sasuke, slouching. "I just want to talk."

"That's not normal for you," said Naruto. "Usually it's punches and shouting at me."

"I know, that might never change," Sasuke said with a smirk and earned a smile from his friend. "But I just wanted to let you know I forgive you… for what you did." Even as he said it, he believed he really did.

Naruto's eyes widened. "You do? I thought you hated me for what I did to Hinata," said Naruto, biting his lip. "I… really did love her Sasuke. Believe me, if I knew what I was going to do I would have spared her by not talking to her in the first place. I swear I never wanted to hurt her in any way." He looked down. "But that's just me, the screw up."

"You're right, you are a screw up and an idiot," said Sasuke making Naruto uncomfortable for awhile before he spoke again. "Demo… you wouldn't be Naruto if you weren't."

Naruto smiled through biting his lip, understanding that he meant they were still best friends. Sasuke got up as well as Naruto.

"Hey… ano… did Hinata forgive me yet?" asked Naruto softly.

"I don't know," Sasuke said truthfully. "I think she did, but you should ask her yourself."

With that he walked out of the gym, glad that he had settled terms with Naruto. Now there was nothing holding him back from converting without extreme difficulties. He knew Hinata would forgive Naruto as well.

The two boys made there way to their classroom to find the other students in class standing, sitting, and talking as was their morning ritual. He found Hinata talking to Neji because Gaara was talking to his brother; Shikamaru sleeping and Chouji was now the target of Naruto for some of his chips to eat in class.

Sasuke pulled up a chair next to the relatives.

"Ohayo," they said.

A comfortable conversation rose between them about the day and the week ahead until Kakashi came striding through the door, book in hand, to take attendance.

After Kakashi was finally finished his drawl, the bell rang and so school had started.

* * *

Hinata was in the middle of second period when the whole room was silenced. Feeling the chill to the room, Hinata knew when she looked up she would find Itachi.

He glided over to Asuma and mumbled to him. Hinata looked across at Sasuke and saw that he did not know what was going on either because he just shrugged.

"Hinata and Neji," said Asuma, getting her attention.

"Hai, Asuma-sensei?"

Neji just looked at him.

"You two go with Itachi to the principal," the teacher said.

Hinata got up as well as Neji and they followed Itachi through the door. Hinata wondered why he would have to take them to Tsunade's office. As they were walking down the corridors and flights of stairs, Itachi decided to tell them what was going on.

"I'm taking Hinata with me today," said Itachi. "We're leaving school so she can prepare. I need you –he glanced at Neji- to give Tsunade permission for her to leave since Hyuuga-san left her with you."

"Hai," said Neji. Hinata figured he wanted Itachi to know he had his full cooperation.

They got to the office and Itachi knocked and then went inside, Hinata and Neji following. Tsunade was waiting behind her desk.

"I see you've brought Neji," said Tsunade. She took out a sheet of paper from her desk and placed it in front of her as well as a pen. "Here. Sign this and you can leave."

Neji stepped up and leaned over the desk, glancing over what was written on the paper before signing his name at the bottom. Tsunade took it from him on his last stroke of the pen, scrawling a blue line straight across the paper.

"That was unnecessary," said Neji. Hinata could tell he so badly wanted to glare at Tsunade.

"So?" asked the principal. "You may leave. I expect you to be at school tomorrow, Itachi. Hinata."

"Hai," said Hinata; Itachi had not said anything. The three went through the door and towards the main entrance of the school and stopped on the top steps.

"Don't be too hard on her," said Neji. Itachi nodded and continued down the steps without looking back. Neji looked at Hinata and then held her hand. Hinata smiled at her cousin.

"I'll be fine," she said. "Don't worry."

Neji was silent for a moment before he spoke. "You have to stay at the Uchiha's until Sunday," said Neji. "Are you okay with that?"

"Hai, are you okay with it?" asked Hinata. "I figured I would have to stay with them sometime this week so it's alright with me."

"It's fine with me too," said Neji. "I'll drop off your clothes and uniform for school. See you here tomorrow."

They hugged and Hinata walked down the steps, trailing Itachi, who was in the distance. When she looked back Neji was already gone.

As Hinata approached the car, she felt the familiar itching on her neck that signaled half moon was near. It was a light prickle, but it was there. Hinata did not worry this time because she knew what it was and she could control herself better than before. Otherwise, she probably would have bitten Neji or Sasuke long ago.

Hinata got in the car, putting on the seat belt as Itachi started the car and drove out of the car park. The first five minutes of the drive was in total silence, the only thing was that the silence increased the focus on her neck and the growing thirst, making Hinata bite her tongue.

The scent of blood filled the car, making Hinata nervous. She looked around at Itachi and saw that his nostrils flared for a second as he took in the aroma.

"Half-moon's near isn't it?" he asked. "It should be here by tomorrow night."

Hinata agreed shyly, remembering her first half moon.

"Don't worry, after tomorrow, it will be Sasuke instead of me for the other half-moons," said Itachi.

Hinata blushed a brilliant shade of red at the thought of Sasuke biting her like that.

"As it's now your second half moon, you can take blood from me as well," Itachi continued. "It's actually convenient that half moon is this week. It will help you and Sai more."

"How so?" Hinata asked.

"You will have to have blood taken anyway so tomorrow I will do that and you will do that too," Itachi told her. "It will be your first time, right? Taking from the neck?"

"Hai," said Hinata. She thought for awhile before she spoke. "What will happen if I bite a… human?" She had not gotten fully used to the fact that she could not be referred to as a human yet.

"You are a newly awakened vampire so you might not know the limit when drinking of a host," said Itachi. "You usually take blood from Neji once a month and you've seen that he is usually not able to get up out of bed from extreme blood loss. If you try biting him on the neck, there's a possibility you will adapt the feeling he is your mate- a vampire like you who can heal and replenish blood quickly- and will kill him by the mere fact that your instincts tell you he is yours."

"Oh…" Hinata said softly. It would have been terrible if she had bitten Neji the night she had awakened to a stage two or if she had given in to her bloodlust. "Demo… I've been able to control myself."

"Hai and you've done a good job," said Itachi. "When you become a stage three, it is advisable not to bite those humans of your taste in the neck, but the opposite."

Hinata nodded in understanding. "What will my training be like?" she asked as they pulled into the driveway.

"You will see," said Itachi. "It won't be that difficult."

As soon as Hinata stepped into the house, she felt it was a little warmer than usual.

"Follow me when you've changed. I think you still have a shirt and some clothes here still until Neji brings the rest later."

Hinata felt his voice more than having heard it and her neck itched. Putting a hand over the spot, Hinata did as was asked, following Itachi to his room. He sat on the bed and motioned for her to do the same.

"The reason why the house is warmer is because right now Sasuke will need the heat to keep his blood flowing freely," said Itachi. "I don't think you mind."

"Iie."

"Good, let's start then," the Uchiha said. He stood up. "Go in the middle of the bed and sit."

Hinata did as he said and waited for further instruction.

"You would have had to take blood today, but it can be done from tomorrow. Do you want to take some now before we start training?" asked Itachi. He took off his jacket and pulled on the shirt to show his neck to Hinata.

Hinata's eyes widened. It would be the first time doing this. She could always wait until tomorrow night, but Itachi was offering her a taste before then. How tempting his neck looked. She could almost feel the heat in the room rise.

"Hai," said Hinata, her thirst rising higher as he walked towards her and crawled on the bed to where she was, kneeling before her. Hinata did the same and tentatively touched his neck, feeling the blood pulse under his cool, soft skin. She could feel some of her consciousness slipping away as she leaned forward only to have Itachi push her away a little.

"Nani?" asked Hinata a bit impatiently.

"Do you slip away like this every time you get thirsty?" asked Itachi. "I thought you would have that under control now."

"I do have it under control, but it's still hard to do." Hinata cleared her mind and leaned forward again and this time Itachi let her. She had never done this with such a conscious awareness but feeling the pulse under her fingertips threw any other thought out the window as she pulled Itachi down with her and licked his neck.

Hinata's thirst surged through her at the taste of him and licked again before nibbling gently on his neck. She could tell Itachi was trying to keep as calm as possible because she knew the pleasures of being bitten. Hinata smiled to think she could cause that and sucked on his pulse, feeling her teeth lengthen and rake across Itachi's neck.

The taste and smell of blood filled Hinata's senses and she fought hard not to sink into the daze. She had to show Itachi she was willing to control herself in order to be a stage three vampire. Itachi's blood tasted so rich, thicker and sweeter than Neji's or Sasuke's blood, just little drops seemed to leave her stunned.

Hinata released an involuntary moan when she could take it no longer and bit him, feeling the slick liquid flow in her mouth, so warm and fresh. It almost felt sinful to break Itachi's skin and that thought just made Hinata even more excited as she drank hungrily, savoring the taste.

Bloodlust wanted to take over her, teetering on the edge of her mind as she suckled roughly on Itachi's neck for more blood. She now knew what Itachi meant by not knowing the limit. In her mind, she just had to have _more_.

She could feel his blood pulsating under her lips and didn't think she had ever experienced the feeling she had at the moment. Itachi allowed her to flip them over, breaking her contact with his neck that now had a stream of blood flowing from it staining the rim of his shirt with blood.

Seeing so much blood stirred Hinata's thirst even more to the point that she was hungry. Itachi held onto her hips as she straddled him to keep her steady and she could feel his erection rubbing on her. Hinata struggled not to think of him as a mate and just on his neck that looked so inviting and leaned in once more, relishing the warm thick flow of blood again as she licked the wound.

Hinata bit down hard, leaving more teeth marks on Itachi's flawless skin and springing a new source of blood. The puncture wounds were so delicious Hinata started to grind on Itachi, causing him to return the movement and he let go of on side of her hips to hold the back of her neck for her to sink her teeth in even more.

Itachi then let out the tiniest of gasps and a low moan, making Hinata feel as though she was in full control of him but was stopped short when he switched their positions and pushed her shoulders into the bed to hold her down as he straddled her instead.

The punctures on his neck were still fresh and allowed the scent of blood to still drift around the room. The blood rolled down the side of his neck and dripped near Hinata's mouth and she darted out her tongue to lick it away.

As Hinata gazed at Itachi, his eyes were tinted as red as the blood on his neck, the stress lines on his face deeper. Hinata smiled, knowing he had almost lost it as much as she did. It amazed her, what the strength of a female vampire could do.

"I think you had enough," said Itachi with a leveled tone now that he had his composure back. His eyes faded to the charcoal they were before and his face looked more relaxed.

He wiped the blood from his neck with his hand, and then licked it off. "I did not expect to go this far," he said.

Hinata relaxed so Itachi would know she was not going to try to bite him again. "I guess this is what you mean by not knowing my limit," Hinata breathed. Even now she still wanted more blood but was able to suppress it by biting her tongue, the scent lost in the richness of Itachi's own blood.

Itachi moved over and got off the bed. He took of his shirt and wiped any blood he missed from his skin. Hinata looked away as he did and then he put on another shirt. He came back and sat next to her as she sat up, licking her lips and wiping of blood from her face and licked her fingers.

"Are you done now?" asked Itachi. Hinata nodded. "Good. Now for the first part of your training."

"Hai."

"You have to clean your heart."

"Nani?" asked Hinata. She did not understand what he meant.

"Not literally of course," said Itachi. "Sasuke probably told you he has to die to convert, so do you. I figure he has settled any bad feelings he's had and now you must as well."

"Hai, I guessed I would have to die as well," said Hinata. "Will Sai have to?"

"Hai. I've told Sasuke but now I have to tell you," said Itachi. "If you have any regrets, old feelings, grudges or heavy feelings then I suggest you get rid of them by tomorrow evening. You can't become a stage three without doing that. If you try you will die during your effort since the body has to take drastic changes and won't be able to pull your heart if it's heavy with too many emotions. Do you understand?"

"Wakata," said Hinata. She was a fairly good person and did not hold grudges on anyone. She had gotten the rid of her feelings for Naruto now that she had Sasuke. She was still angry at Naruto and Karin though, and had not spoken to her much since she found of about the two and not spoken Naruto at all since then.

She would have to get over it now once and for all. "What else do I have to do?"

"Be able to demand attention, no matter where you go with the simplest of movements you must show that you are a cut above everyone else," said Itachi. "It doesn't matter if you scratch your behind or pick your nose, it must look as though it's right."

Hinata snorted and put a hand to her mouth to muffle it. "Gomen," she said.

Itachi gave her an irritated look and then continued. "Next, when you turn, you will have a distinguishing mark to allow other vampires to know you are one of them," he said.

"What's yours?" Hinata asked out of curiosity.

"These," Itachi said tracing his finger over his stress lines. "You probably saw they were more pronounced when you bit me."

"Oh, yeah," Hinata said as she remembered. "So I will get a mark when I turn as well as Sasuke?"

"Hai," Itachi confirmed. "Now back to your presence. I want you to start by gathering enough energy so that you feel it humming against your skin."

"How am I going to do that?" asked Hinata.

"It will come naturally, you are a vampire," Itachi said simply.

Hinata bit her lip lightly and tried to do what Itachi said and immediately felt a sting on the base of her spine. "Itai!"

"You are trying too hard," said Itachi. He crawled around her and held her shoulders gently. "The energy comes from here…" He lightly touched Hinata's lower back and she could actually feel the energy buzzing there. "Just release it and you will be able to do almost what any other vampire can do until you turn. Like manipulating and seducing your food. Everything about you goes up a level, all of your senses. Sasuke might not have told you, but his senses are already starting and that's only with little blood so far."

Itachi moved away as Hinata concentrated and soon she was able to control her senses as she never knew she could. Her fingertips tingled and her ears buzzed, stars sparkled before her eyes. Her body felt hot and cold all at once.

"Turn it down a little," said Itachi. "I can feel it's too strong."

Hinata calmed until she was comfortable and waited until Itachi was satisfied.

"Good, you have your presence under control. You just have to maintain it when you've turned so let it go now," said Itachi.

Hinata let go of her pull on the energy. "Well, that was not hard at all," she said.

"No it isn't, but you have to practice everyday until Saturday," said Itachi. "Next, transporting to another location."

Hinata swallowed. She had seen Itachi do this lots of times and had always wondered how he did it.

"Humans have come to think that vampires can only use bats since it's known that is how we came about, from the severe bites of bats," said Itachi. "But we can use other creatures as well. Mostly what humans shun because they don't really understand them. Humans tried to force us into hiding so we used those creatures that they thought dangerous or dirty for our bidding."

Hinata listened carefully, hoping she would be able to use simple creatures.

"These vary. It can be bats, ravens, bugs, snakes or anything like that," said Itachi. "But females prefer to manipulate softer, smaller creatures like insects such as butterflies and bees."

"So do you know which I will have?" asked Hinata.

"We'll find that out now," Itachi replied. "When you charged your energy, it was a buzzing right? I felt it."

"Hai," said Hinata. "There was a sharp sting at first too. What does that mean?"

"It means that you will control bees. They will transport you, protect you and do as you wish," said Itachi. "Now what you have to do is offer your blood as a small payment."

"Okay," said Hinata. This was not as bad as she thought. Clearly converting was harder.

Itachi took her wrist and did what Hinata had never seen him do before. His nail lengthened and he slit Hinata's wrist.

"Call your energy," said Itachi and Hinata did and was startles that a large swarm of bees surrounded them both. Itachi quickly got off the bed as they encircled her, the buzzing loud. One particularly large bee, the queen, landed on Hinata's still outstretched hand, right on the cut that was there. Hinata could see it sniff her blood then without warning, its rear went down and it stung her right on the wound.

"Itai!" Hinata jumped off the bed faster than she ever thought she could and ran around the room trying to get away from the bees shrieking and trying to fan them away. The queen bee buzzing loudly around her.

Before she could swat away the insect, it took off, hovering with the other bees before they disappeared, leaving Hinata shocked at what had happened.

"That went better than I thought it would," said Itachi from the corner of the room. Hinata was barely listening to him though, instead she was staring at the swelling bee sting. Itachi came up to her and pulled her up out of the bed to stand and took a band-aid from the desk nearby, putting it on her swollen wrist.

"Arigato," said Hinata. She returned to her normal state now that the sight of the sting was gone. "What was that for?"

"The bees exchanged with you, your blood for their sting," said Itachi. "You are now bonded. I want you to practice during the week and eventually, you'll even be able to communicate with them and not just use them. You should be able to by Friday without any problems."

"Will Sasuke have to do this as well?" asked Hinata. "Sai too?"

"Hai, Sasuke will know by tonight and Sai has already done this," Itachi told her.

"And what creatures are for Sai?" asked Hinata.

"He's using rats," said Itachi.

The sound of a car drew near and then the front door was opened, signaling that the others were home from school. The obnoxiously loud voice of Naruto was heard saying he was hungry as he ran through the house. Karin's voice was heard as well telling him to be quiet. The lower tones of Kin and Sai came closer as they went to Sai's room and Hinata heard a door close, meaning Sasuke had gone to his room.

Itachi turned to her. "Your training for the day is over, so now all you have to do is practice. Tomorrow I won't be here in the evening so Sai will show you what to do next. Instead of going through the door, I want you to test out what I've shown you. Start with your aura and then transport to wherever you want in the house, using your bees."

"Hai," said Hinata, feeling excited. She relaxed and felt the very faint buzzing and the sensation of being hot and cold then a louder buzzing was heard and she was surrounded by her bees. "How do I do this?"

"Tell them where you want to be," said Itachi. "Oh, and one more thing. Sasuke is in his room."

"Hai?" said Hinata nervously.

"Tonight's the first day Sasuke must have foreign blood. He took the pig's blood on his own this afternoon. But now he has to start on other blood," said Itachi. "I've put some blood in a cooler next to the fridge so get a packet and carry it for Sasuke. If he refuses, _make him_. He must take blood tonight."

"H-hai," said Hinata over the buzz of bees. She thought really hard _'Take me to the kitchen.'_

Hinata gasped when she got the sensation that she was blinded by the flurry of insects and felt as though she was floating. But it did not feel right, as though she was drifting through a tunnel. Her body felt shapeless as though she was mere particles, but as soon as she tried to figure out what was happening, she was in the kitchen by the fridge.

Hinata blinked, not believing what she had just done and then a wide smile graced her face when she realized what she did. She was coming closer to becoming a stage three.

She saw the cooler and took out a Ziploc of blood from it that read 'redhead' but put it back at the thought of Karin. Hinata then took out the blood of a brunette and relaxed again. _'Take me to Sasuke's room, onegai.'_

Hinata went through the same sensation, materializing in Sasuke's room in his chair by the desk.

* * *

"ARGH!"

Itachi smiled, knowing that Hinata had learned quickly and at his brother's reaction.

* * *

"What the hell!" yelled Sasuke as he stared at Hinata with wide eyes. "Since when are you able to do that?"

He was changing out of his uniform to put on something more comfortable when he heard a loud buzzing. At first he thought it was he who was losing his mind and cursed Itachi as he regretted taking the blood earlier when he saw Hinata take form in his room the way Itachi always did. Only she was using bees instead of ravens.

That was not all. Her presence filled the room, making Sasuke feel warm and cold at once and he was not sure if it was a good thing or not.

"What did you do?" he asked Hinata and she smiled.

"Training," she said. "It went better than I thought."

At hearing that, Sasuke felt a pang of jealousy. How come he had to deal with all the torture while Hinata and Sai had it easy? The price he had to pay for wanting to convert was a lot higher than theirs was.

"Itachi said you will learn how to do this too," said Hinata when the last of the bees were gone, the buzz faded. "I learned not too long ago."

Sasuke watched as she got up from in the chair and went to the bed to sit as he recomposed himself from leaning back on the drawer in attempt to get away from the bees earlier and opened it to take out a shirt and jeans. While he put them on, Hinata turned away until he was done and then he went to sit next to her. That was when he registered the Ziploc of blood in her lap.

"What do you plan on doing with that?" he asked. He knew Hinata had never taken blood from an unknown source. Even now she did not seem to be thirsty at all.

"I'm not planning on doing anything with this," she said. "Demo… Itachi said that you have t-"

"Iie."

"Demo, he said-"

"Iie, I'm not drinking from someone I don't know," said Sasuke.

"You drank pig's blood," Hinata argued in her soft voice. "And you survived so s-stop being a baby."

Sasuke had no choice but to laugh at her attempt. "How can you can me a baby when you're stuttering like a five year old?"

Hinata tossed the packet into Sasuke's lap, making him jump as the liquid sloshed around. This was just like when Itachi had first tried to get him to drink blood.

"It's warm so it should be good," said Hinata with her arms folded. He could tell she was a little upset with his comment about her stutter. To tell the truth, he had not heard it since they had started school.

"It's just that I don't know where it came from," said Sasuke. "I know you've never had blood from the packets so don't try to act like you know what it's like."

Hinata sighed. "I know I've never taken any… but I'll take it with you if you want," she said finally.

"Itachi told me that too but only took a sip," said Sasuke. "Then I was puking up in the sink five minutes later."

"I probably would too if I had to drink pig's blood, honestly," said Hinata. "But if you want to get something, you should do whatever it takes to get it."

Sasuke looked away. He really wanted to help Hinata find her clan and he wanted to live with her forever and the only way that was possible was if he converted. When he looked back at Hinata, she had a determined look on her face.

"I'll let you take my blood if you want."

Sasuke's jaw almost dropped when he heard Hinata say that. She was offering to give her own blood instead of making him drink the one that was in the packet. "Are you serious?"

"Hai," said Hinata. She inhaled and then he saw her bite her tongue. Sasuke could actually smell the coppery scent waft through the room and his other senses flared. She looked so afraid to Sasuke and so cute at the same time he found it hard not to smile.

He took her chin so she could look at him. "Just tell me if it's too much, okay?" he said. He was going to take her blood that she offered. He was thankful that she had and was going to find a way to thank her. He tilted her way to capture her lips in a kiss.

Before he could stop himself, he held her back and guided her down on the bed with him following, lips still attached as he threw the Ziploc on the floor.

It was a strange feeling for Sasuke. The last time he was kissing Hinata, it was his own blood he tasted, but this was different.

He started to feel Hinata's teeth lengthen and her lips twitch from her awakening thirst and it excited him, kissing her harder to get better access to her blood. Hinata bit her lips as well, a little too hard, making blood run down their chins and Sasuke licked it away as she did.

He parted from her and looking down, he did not think he had ever seen her look so pretty. He wished he could stop time to keep her staring up at him, looking so sweet and innocent but wanton. Sasuke kissed her again, wanting to taste her blood as he ran his hands along her sides until he came to the hem of her shirt. His hand went under the material to cup her breasts through her bra. He pulled down one of the cups to get access to her bare mound of skin.

Hinata gasped, making him smirk. He was just as innocent as she was and he found great pleasure in knowing he could arouse such feelings in her and cause such reactions from his touches. The blush across her cheeks was redder than he had ever seen them. Sasuke reached behind her to unclip the bra, fumbling with the tiny clasps and finding it hard to unhook the things. He cursed silently at the piece of undergarment pursing his lips as he finally got one of the three clips undone.

Hinata broke the kiss and giggled, reaching behind her to unsnap the bra in one movement as she smiled up at his utter embarrassment. She bit her tongue again and he kissed her once more, his hand under her shirt while the other supported her back.

Sasuke sucked hungrily at her mouth. Under his hand, he could feel Hinata's nipple hardened with arousal and smirked against her mouth as she arched into his touches. Sasuke sat up and pulled Hinata's shirt over her head slowly, revealing her bare flat stomach and her perfect breasts. She smiled nervously at him and he smiled back reassuringly.

"I'll stop anytime you want me to," he said softly, his voice not even recognizable to him. Hinata nodded and closed her eyes as he continued and he figured she was too shy to look at him perform his ministrations. He leaned in to kiss her breast lightly before taking the soft flesh into his mouth, earning another gasp from Hinata when she arched to meet his mouth as he suckled on the hardened bud.

She tasted so delicious, his pants got tighter and tighter just thinking about it. But he wanted more…

He moved slowly, not sure how Hinata would react as he went lower, kissing her stomach then stopping at her navel dipping his tongue in the deep decent. It pleased him when Hinata gave a tiny whimper, barely noticeable and he smiled at the fact that she was so shy, it was only natural that she was not very vocal. He looked up at her to see her eyes were still closed as she bit her lip.

Sasuke wondered how far Hinata would allow him to go, but he had always wanted to do what he hoped she would let him. He unbuttoned her pants and unzipped it carefully to not startle her and stared at the red boy shorts peeking through the unzipped pants. Hinata whimpered again when he reached in to touch her gently.

"I won't do anything you don't want me to," said Sasuke.

"I know," Hinata breathed.

Sasuke started to pull the pants lower and Hinata lifted her hips to help him take it off. He had never seen such a beautiful sight as the one he was seeing at the moment. His boxer was damp just looking at Hinata, shivering despite it was warm with want and nervousness with her eyes fluttering open to peep at him shyly.

He smiled up at her as he gently pulled down the last of her clothes, feeling more than welcome at the damp piece of cloth. As Sasuke slowly spread Hinata's legs, he looked up to see if she was alright but she had her eyes tightly closed again with her blush spreading over her entire face. She was so cute and innocent it almost felt wrong to do what he was about to.

Sasuke pulled her lower on the bed so her legs could dangle off the edge and when his mouth met her, Hinata's hips jerked in surprised with a sharp intake of air. Sasuke's senses were heightened because he had taken blood and he didn't think he had tasted anything sweeter than her flow of love for him.

She had never said it to him, but he could feel it in every touch, glance and smile she gave him. Now she was showing him physically how much she wanted him, even as shyly as she was doing it, her wet core showed him clearly, twitching whenever he flicked his tongue over her center, getting even more whimpers when he ran his tongue in circles around her bundle of nerves.

He felt her move and looked up to see her looking at him. "D-do you… like how I look?" she asked him.

Sasuke smiled, knowing she was embarrassed to have someone see her so bare and be as close as they were. "Of course," said Sasuke. "I like how you look…" he licked her. "How you taste, the way you smell…and how you feel."

Hinata smiled at him sweetly and lay down once more in bliss as he continued.

Before he knew it, Hinata started to tense and then grabbed his head to push him even closer between her legs as she rocked against him. Sasuke gladly obliged, wanting to give her as much pleasure as possible and he knew he did when she grasped his hand, holding tightly as she came, shivering and shuddering the feeling running right down his spine. Hinata's breaths came out hitched and in gasps and whimpers as she calmed down, limp under Sasuke's touch when he crawled back to her level to kiss her.

He could tell Hinata was excited by her taste when he kissed her and welcomed the taste of her blood when she bit her tongue for him to feed on. She reached to pull off his shirt and then fumbled with his pants until he was just in his boxers as their hips undulated together and then she raked her nails on his back and shoulders, nearly driving him mad. Sasuke felt himself rub against Hinata's mound so he stopped short. He had come and some had gone through the opening of his boxers on her.

"Damn!" he cursed. He had come into contact with her and was not wearing a condom. He could only hope none of his precum had made its way near her opening. Hinata came to her senses as well and looked up at him through lidded eyes, fearful of the same thing.

"Do you think-"

"Don't think about it," said Sasuke softly and hugged her before dismounting. They knew they were never to go so far as they did, that's why he did not take off any more clothing than he had. He kissed her lips and got off the bed.

Hinata immediately closed her legs and covered her breasts with one of her hands.

"Here," said Sasuke as he gave her sheets to cover with. He could see Hinata lost in thoughts as she clutched at the sheets wrapped around her and asked her what she was thinking about.

"Nothing," said Hinata distantly. "And I really mean that because my mind is completely blank."

"Are you okay though?" asked Sasuke. "Do you regret what we did?"

"Hai," said Hinata. "Iie, I don't regret it," she said quickly with a short smile.

A wave of relief came over Sasuke when he heard that. He got up and went to the bathroom and came back with a towel for Hinata. "Are you ready to clean up?"

"Hai," said Hinata, taking the towel. She got off the bed and unwrapped the sheets, flashing Sasuke and showing him a cute little birthmark on the right cheek of her behind before she wrapped the towel around her frame and went in the bathroom. He heard the shower running and he took up her clothes to take for her. His senses were still on full alert from the blood and he could smell her scent all over him.

On the way to the bathroom, Sasuke nearly stepped on the packet of blood and picked it up. Hinata came through the door as he was going in. He gave her the clothes. "I'm going to take the blood from the Ziploc," he told her as she dressed.

"Why?"

"It's a risk doing what we did," said Sasuke. "We got caught up too fast."

"You're right," said Hinata. "I don't want to be pregnant right now at all. It would only complicate things for us."

Sasuke nodded. "I'm going to have a shower."

He went into the bath and put the blood on the sink's counter top then stepped into the bath. The thought of what he and Hinata had done was a memory he would never forget but he could not have agreed with her more and was glad that she did not want to be pregnant either. He would have to be extra careful next time and take blood from the Ziploc until he converted.

When he came out, Hinata was already gone but he spotted a note on the bed. Picking it up, he opened it and it showed a smiley face. Sasuke smiled at the little gesture showing that she was alright.

Maybe everything would be fine after all.

* * *

**_And so that is the end of this chapter. I hope you liked it as much as I tried to enjoy it since I'm feeling quite crappy at the moment and could barely keep my head up and my hands from shaking as I wrote since I feel so weak. _**

**_If you have not read _****A Happy Ending _or _Hina hime_ please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do! It'll cheer me up too!  
_**


	21. Forgiving

**_Hi!_**

**_I hope you like this and won't mind that it's short but I've explained the reason in the A/N in _****Hina hime****_. _**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 21:Forgiving**

**--**

Saturday was approaching fast, what with it being Thursday and Hinata's training as well as Sasuke's was going well. Itachi showed them all that there was to learn and Sasuke and Hinata were feeding on the packaged blood since Sasuke promised he would and Neji was not there.

Full moon had gone smoothly and Hinata and Sasuke practiced their summoning and transporting and Hinata could say that she was well on her way to having everything she wanted.

Except for the fact that she was in class, working on Math questions. Hinata could not focus on them though, because she was daydreaming about the outcome of when she and Sasuke changed.

She hoped her grandmother would allow her to see where her mother rested and at least give her some idea about her past. That was all she wanted and she wished so hard for it every night lately that there was no way everything would not work in her favor.

Struggling through the last of the problems as the bell rang, Hinata then packed up her books to go to lunch and handed her paper in to Asuma with the other students.

When she got to the table where all of her friends sat at, Hinata saw that Sasuke was still trying to eat as much as possible, but not as much as before; his appetite seemed to be thinning.

Hinata felt a jolt when Ino sat next to her. "Hi," she said and Hinata returned the greeting. "I've been barely able to talk to you lately and I hardly see you online if at all."

"I've just been terribly busy with personal stuff," said Hinata, not liking to have to stay away from her close friend.

"Oh, well I can understand that," said Ino. "But it's killing me to have to deal with Pinkie over there without you being referee. I just might push her down the stairs."

"That's not nice," Hinata said with a giggle.

"It's not that bad though. Apparently she's found a new hobby."

"And that is?"

Ino leaned in, much to Hinata's discomfort and delight at seeing her pulse just below the collar. "She's been eyeing Kakashi-sensei lately and even told me she likes him," whispered Ino. "She's been sending him little notes in her homework."

"How do you know she's been doing that?" asked Hinata. She was not one to gossip but Sakura was one of the two girls who were trying to get at Naruto so she indulged herself. It was better if Sakura found somebody else so that Karin and Naruto could be happy because Hinata was sure she saw the pink haired girl talking to Naruto the day before when Karin was not there in a more than friendly way.

"One of the notes slipped out of her papers a couple of days ago and I picked it up and read it," The blonde continued. "It seems they have a secret going on because the front was her asking if he read the other notes which meant he's not replied to the others but Kakashi sensei had written a reply on the back of the one I found saying he had read them. But instead of a scolding or a 'meet me in detention' he wrote that he was flattered by her choice of words and was glad she was a fan of his books."

Hinata's hand flew up to her mouth in a gasp. "That means…"

"Hai, it means we've got a little closet perv trying to contact the open one and she's getting the attention," Ino confirmed. "Who would have though, eh?"

That was true. Never would Hinata have thought Sakura was going after their sensei and he was showing interest.

Ino backed away with an innocent look and took out her lunch as Hinata opened her juice and started to drink

"What were you talking about, Flipper?" Sakura's voice sounded. Hinata looked across and saw that she had just sat down next to Ino.

"It's none of your concern, Potato Skin. Maybe you should mind your business and take out a mirror to pop those extra eyes in your face."

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she took out her own lunch. "Speaking of popping, I think your bunions are about to pop out of the side of your shoes," said Sakura and bit into her lunch.

"You don't have to worry about that. By the way, how come you're eating today- seeing as how you're always on a diet?" asked Ino. "I think it's great that you're trying to gain back the boobs you lost over the summer that don't seem to be coming back and the butt you left back at your cheerleading camp."

"Screw you."

"You're not my type," said Ino and Hinata decided to stop them before things got out of hand.

"I think you two should stop now," she cut in.

"You're right, I'm wasting my breath on that thing oozing next to me," said Ino. Sakura's finger found a red bump on her cheek and covered it, but didn't say anything more.

Hinata sighed. What happened to the times when it was just 'Forehead girl and Ino-pig?'

When lunch was over, Hinata went back to the classroom with the other bustling students after she had gotten her sketch pad and other things from her locker and sat down for Art.

Kurenai was always early, so it was no surprise when she came through the door even with some of the last students to be inside. Sometimes they would go to her class, but she had said to stay in their own classroom.

"Konbawa," she greeted and the class started. Neji sat next to her this time and they talked the whole time as quietly as possible about her progress and his dealing with Hanabi. They even held hands as they did their work- Hinata had to bite her tongue the whole time- and it was good to know he was still there for her. The only problem was that she could feel eyes searing through her the entire time.

She had given them a reasonably easy topic for the two periods and they all worked quietly, except for the occasional muttering on short conversations. By the time the bell had rang, almost everyone had completed their piece and it was time for Literature with Kakashi.

Ino winked at Hinata as he strolled in without a care in the world and sat at the teacher's desk gingerly. "Do you know," he said. "It's good to have great balance?"

Everyone looked at him as though he had just escaped from an asylum, but Naruto jumped to his feet.

"Damn, I knew I should have taken off another leg."

Looking under her sensei's table, Hinata saw that the chair had only three legs. Thinking back, she was glad Kurenai had chosen to sit on the desk as usual.

"But you didn't so no laughs from me for you this afternoon," Kakashi drawled. "Sit please so we can start.

In all honesty, Hinata wished the class had finished before it had begun because her sensei chose to turn the lit class into a circus with his explanations and theories on the book they were studying and those theories were not for clean minds, because he twisted everything around. At least he always said 'just kidding' and gave the correct briefing on what they read, but the damage was still done and by the time the last period was over, Hinata's mind was swimming with images. The only person listening attentively was Sakura, who nodded and asked many question during the entire time.

As the class departed from another day at school, Hinata caught one of the moments between Naruto and Karin and frowned. Itachi had said she needed to cleanse her heart before Saturday and she knew Sasuke had done so already, but why was it so hard to talk to the blond? Why was it so hard to be friends with Karin like before? Wasn't she over all of that? She had forgiven them, but had not forgotten yet.

But she had to be before Saturday so she would make an effort to talk to Karin and Naruto when they got home. Speaking to them separately would help as well.

x

Hinata got a ride home with Itachi and Sasuke as usual while Sai and the others drove home in the other car. She had decided; she was ending this as soon as she got home. What was past should be left ib the past and she was letting it go not only for her heart but piece of mind.

She did not even notice she was squeezing the hand she was holding.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Sasuke. He was sitting in the back seat with her for once but he seemed distant.

"Hai, I was just thinking," Hinata said.

"I know what you mean. We're going through a lot in a short space of time."

"Hai," said Hinata, looking away. There was still a little awkwardness between them since he had first drunk her blood but they were getting over it. She was scared something had happened, but as far as she knew, there only a twenty percent or so that she was pregnant. But she felt fine and her period was coming tomorrow anyway.

Then something clicked. Her period was going to start from tomorrow and that meant it would run straight through the weekend.

"Ano… Itachi?" Hinata said hesitantly. "I've got a question."

"Hai. You having your period will affect the flow of events this weekend," said Itachi without even waiting for her to ask.

"How did you know that?"

"I can smell it, remember?" said Itachi, glancing at her through the mirror.

"Oh yeah," said Hinata. If she took a really good whiff she could smell her body changing as well.

"Don't worry, when you're a stage three you won't lose as much blood as you are now and it will replenish faster. Most likely you'll only have to get blood the first day."

When they got home, Hinata made a b-line for her bedroom to change out of her uniform when they parted. She heard the other four come in after them and sighed. It was no or never.

After she changed, Hinata went on the task she had set for herself; she would talk to Karin first.

Knocking on her bedroom door, Hinata waited until she heard the redhead say it was fine to come in. Hinata opened the door slowly and saw Karin pulling up her pants. "What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk," said Hinata. She moved to lie next to Karin. "We haven't been speaking to each other since you…"

"Hinata, I'm really sorry about that I-"

"Iie, I'm fine now and I have Sasuke," Hinata said. "Demo, I just wanted you to know that. I've decided to get over it."

Karin took Hinata's hands in her own. "Arigato, Hinata. I thought you hated me and Naruto for what we did."

"Iie, I don't," Hinata said. "But if I catch you going after Sasuke, that's a different story."

Karin smiled. "Of course not. I'd never do that."

Hinata gave Karin a friendly smile as well and then got up to leave. Half of the weight on her shoulders was gone, now for the other half.

Leaving Karin's room, Hinata then made her way to Naruto's room and knocked before she was asked to enter. Naruto was lying there shirtless on his back but when he saw it was Hinata at the door, he jumped up and found a shirt. "Hinata, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I want to talk to you," said Hinata.

"You actually want to talk to me?" asked Naruto, eyes wide. "I thought you'd never talk to me again."

"Yeah well… I think it's time I start again. She had not moved from the frame of the door.

"You can shut the door, you know," said Naruto and Hinata shut the door as he sat on the bed again. "So what do you want to talk to me about?"

"I just wanted to tell you I forgive you," whispered Hinata. "It was hard to do, but I finally did it and I'm ready to be your friend."

"Really?!" Naruto said excitedly, holding his head in disbelief. "Oh, Hinata you have no idea how I feel right now."

He got up and walked to her, Hinata pressing herself against the door. Just because she forgave him didn't mean she wanted him to touch her. But he did not know that and he ran his finger across her cheek in a caress.

"I've been starving for you to talk to me for so long," he said, his blue eyes piercing her own. "I regret hurting such a great girl who did nothing but love me. I'm so glad I can be this near to you again…"

Hinata trembled under his touch, not knowing what to do. Maybe he was just being friendly and wanted to show her. But that thought flew out of the window when his lips met her quivering ones.

What was he doing? How could he kiss her? Why was she kissing him back?

Hinata wrenched her mouth from Naruto's and stared wide-eyed at him. "What are you doing?!" she shouted through a whisper.

"Kissing you," Naruto whispered back. "And you returned it."

"It's only obvious, you dumped me, not the other way around, Naruto," Hinata said and shoved him away. "Don't ever do that again. I won't stand to be hurt by you again."

Naruto's face sank into remorse and he looked away. "Gomen, I d-didn't mean to do that. I'd never try to hurt you again. I just missed you, that's all. And I was testing out something."

"And what would that be?"

"I wanted to see if what Karin was saying was true," said Naruto. "She said I was not your _taste_."

"Oh…" Hinata paused. "Iie, you're not. Never were."

He came back to her and held her hand. "I'm really sorry for what I just did. It was out of place and I deserve you not speaking to me ever again."

"You know I'm not like that, Naruto," Hinata said. "I forgive you. I have to go."

She hugged Naruto and let go, feeling lighter than before as she left. Even though the fact that she had kissed him back floated through her mind, Hinata knew that she was at ease and that was all that mattered.

Hinata was ready to face Saturday.

* * *

**_There you have it. I hope you liked it._**

**_If you've never read _****Hina hime ****_or_**** A Happy Ending****_ please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja_****_ ne1_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	22. Growing Jealousy and Mounting Thirst

**_Here is the 22nd chapter! I hope you like this chapter. Sorry again to my Beta- I'll really try to get my chapters to you before I post them but I did this in a rush._**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 22: Growing Jealousy and Mounting Thirst  
**

**--**

Hinata was so nervous she didn't know what to do. Focusing in class was not even an option as she just stared at the board, daydreaming about what was to come the next day which was not too far away. The only interesting thing was that Kakashi put Sakura in detention for apparently not doing her homework.

Friday was the best day of the week for most students but as the bell rang for school to be over, Hinata had never thought she would dread the weekend so much as she was.

Not that she was having second thoughts about turning ST **_(stage three)_**, but she was just a bit anxious about what was to come since she grew up without the influence of another vampire.

****Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she packed up he stuff to go to her locker so much that she did not even notice her cousin right behind her as she put up her books.

"Hey."

Hinata started at the sound of Neji's voice so near and immediately bit her tongue, sucking hard to overcome the shock. Sometimes she forgot to take her little doses regularly and ended up panicking. It happened all day, Hinata nearly fainting when Ino hugged her from behind earlier.

Hinata turned around to face Neji and smiled. "Hi."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Hai… I think so," Hinata said, excitement written all over her features.

"That's good. I just want you to be careful and come back home well on Sunday," said Neji. He took her hand in his. "Just call me if you need me."

"There's nothing to worry about," Hinata assured him. "Everything's great and Sunday I'll be home in one piece."

Hanabi came up to them.

"Have fun, Onee-chan!" she said and rushed forward to hug her, pulling her down to her level to whisper in her ear. "Don't tell Neji, but Konohamaru asked me to a party tonight and I'm sneaking out."

Hinata's eyes went wide with shock at the information she was just given and pulled Hanabi to the side away from Neji who looked at them with curiosity.

"Nani!" Hinata whispered. "What are you thinking, Hanabi? You barely know him."

"That's not true, he's in my class and we've been talking for awhile and this party could decide a lot of things for me," Hanabi told her. "Please let me go. I would not have told you if I didn't trust you not to tell."

That was right. Hanabi could have sneaked out on her own without telling her since she was not going to be home and Neji only checked up on her once before he went to bed. Hinata sighed, hoping she was making the right decision.

"Alright, you can go and I won't tell Neji," said Hinata. "But if I hear anything went wrong, Hanabi I swear you'll hate me for the rest of the year because that's how long you'll be grounded because Neji will know about it as well. Where is this party anyway and who's going to be there?"

"It's at Moegi's house since her father had to leave on business over the weekend and my class will be there with some people that they are inviting," Hanabi told her.

"I don't know about this," said Hinata," But I trust you as well so Just be back at one because I'll tell Neji to check that you're back by then."

"Demo!-"

"Iie, Hanabi. You can't be out later than that, you're too young to be going out so late," said Hinata. "Just be careful."

"Hai," said Hanabi and she and Hinata walked back to Neji, who had an eyebrow raised in question.

"What was all of that about?" he asked.

"She was asking me about all the things she thinks would happen and she was a little embarrassed to let you hear," Hinata lied smoothly.

"Hn, right. Well Sasuke's coming this way with his brother so I'll see you on Sunday," said Neji.

"Hai. Oh, and Neji? Check up on Hanabi at night because she may be lonely without me being in the house for so long," Hinata said cunningly with a side glance at Hanabi, who pouted.

"Sure thing," said Neji.

Sasuke and Itachi came up to the three.

"We're ready to leave now," said Itachi. He turned to Neji. "If you want to contact us, call this number…" he gave Neji a slip of paper. "We won't be in Konoha."

Looking at Sasuke, Hinata saw that he knew what was going on already.

"Why is that?" asked Neji. Hinata could tell he was not very happy to hear the new news.

"When I contacted my father this afternoon, He said He wanted Sasuke to be converted the proper way- with the clan elders involved and that Hinata could come as well since Sai will be going with us," said Itachi.

"How far is it from here?" Neji asked.

This time Sasuke answered. "It's just on the outskirts of town," he said, his eyes boring into Neji's who had the same look. What was going on with the two of them? It looked like some silent battle was going on. "She'll be safe with us."

"I'll hold you to that," said Neji. He and Hanabi said their goodbyes with a hug and walked down the corridor, out of sight.

"Let's go," said Itachi. "Sai and the others left already to get a start on packing.

Hinata and Sasuke followed Itachi out of the school.

"Nervous?" asked Sasuke.

"Kinda. I'm now finding out that I'll be out of town to your clan but I'll recover," said Hinata.

"There's nothing to worry about," said Sasuke. "My clan's mixed so there won't be a problem where you are concerned."

They trailed behind as they went through the front of the school, both silent.

"Hey, Hinata," started Sasuke.

"Hai?"

"What kind of relationship do you and Neji have?"

"A-ano," Hinata stammered. "What do you mean? We're cousins."

"I know he's your taste and everything but aren't you too a little close?" asked Sasuke.

To be truthful, she and Neji were close, but Sasuke was asking her as though he thought that she and Neji had more than a cousin-based relationship. Hinata and Neji, being so close from young, were always together. They did everything including experimenting but wasn't that what most relatives did anyway? She wasn't sure since she was never around the rest of her family or clan.

"In all honesty, Sasuke, me and Neji did things when we were younger. Stuff that we should not have done. But we grew out of that kinda," said Hinata.

"What do you mean 'kinda?'" asked Sasuke as they came to the car and got in.

"We still sleep together at night and all that," said Hinata s she strapped in, only to have her hand stopped.

"Nani?!"

"Nani?" Hinata mimicked.

"You sleep in the same bed?" asked Sasuke in disbelief. "Are you crazy? Do you know what goes through males' heads when we sleep?"

"My father asked me the same thing," said Hinata laughing. "I understand all that but it doesn't matter since we're _cousins_," Hinata explained.

"Who have the possibility of being mates, Hinata," said Sasuke. Itachi looked back at them through his mirror but said nothing.

"I don't see why you've brought this up," said Hinata. "I-"

At that moment, Hinata's phone vibrated and looking at it, she saw it was Ino.

"Moshi moshi?" answered Hinata.

_"Hi, Hinata. I was wondering if you want to sleep over this weekend,"_ came Ino's voice. _"We've barely been talking so far and I miss having you around."_

Hinata bit her lip and looked through the window. "Gomen, I can't. I have some really important stuff to do this weekend."

_"Like what?"_

"I'm going to be out of town," said Hinata. "Demo, we can do it the week after next week if you want."

_"Hai. I'll see you on Monday then,"_ Ino said and after saying goodbye, Hinata hung up and looked at Sasuke.

"What were we talking about?" she asked.

"Never mind, it was stupid," Sasuke told her with a small smile. "It was silly."

Hinata knew he just wanted to forget about it for the sake of the next day since they had to leave everything behind so she did not question it. And she didn't think she wanted to continue that conversation either. It seemed as though Sasuke was jealous but that was not possible right? After all, Neji had the same look earlier.

Not too long afterward, they arrived at the Uchiha's and went inside to do their packing.

"I'll see you all the front door in ten minutes," said Sasuke and Hinata nodded before going up to her room.

Hinata made sure to put everything she needed in the traveling bag and in fifteen minutes, she was walking down the stairs with a backache from lugging the heavy bag down the stairs.

"I never get why girls take so long," said Sasuke. "We've been down here for ages and you girls were taking forever."

All of the others were ready and Hinata felt a little sorry for making them wait.

"Karin just came down the stairs, right before Hinata and she got here first," said Kin.

"So what? It's better to have more rather than less than what you want when you're leaving," replied Karin.

"Let's just go," said Itachi. He turned to Naruto. "I leave you in charge of the house. We'll be back Sunday around noon."

"Alright," said Naruto. He pulled Karin into a hug and a kiss and let go as everyone shuffled out the door and to the two cars.

As they drove away towards the outskirts of Konoha, Hinata couldn't help but feel excited that she was actually going to be an ST and so was Sasuke. She was sure Sai felt the same as well.

"Hinata," said Itachi and he waited until he had her attention to finish. "When we get there, speak to no one. Not yet. Do you understand? Only when we go inside the house can you speak because the rest of the clan has not been informed of your coming."

"Hai."

"I will have to take the place of your guardian since Sasuke is not turned yet," he continued.

"I figured that out mostly," said Hinata. "What else?"

"Nothing else at the moment," said Itachi. "You can rest up now if you want though. You too Sasuke since you know home is about three hours from here."

"Arigato," Hinata said and looked out the window. On the way there, the three of them talked about what to expect and many other things until Hinata felt sleepy and rested on Sasuke's shoulder, falling into a light sleep.

* * *

Sasuke woke up Hinata when they reached the edge of his village- the Uchiha compound.

"We're here."

Hinata jumped to the window pressing her hands on the glass as she looked outside in amazement it seemed. He had never seen he look more excited and when he looked in the mirror, he saw that Itachi was amused with her as well.

"It's so pretty here," sighed Hinata. "It's so eerie and calm but still it draws you in."

"That's mostly because it's to lure prey here if they are too curious; just like a spider's web," Sasuke explained, looking through his window at his old home.

There were children running in the streets as Itachi slowly drove by and many times Sasuke had to figure out whose children they were because he'd not been here in so long.

His house was not far from where they were and speaking of which, they had just pulled into the driveway.

Sasuke's heart started to beat rapidly, whether from nervousness or anxiousness he did not know. He had not spoken to his parents since he left and was not sure how they would react to him bringing home Hinata.

He just hoped they would like her. For sure his mother, Mikoto, would love Hinata but his father was very picky. His father, Fugaku, was very strict being the second in command of the Uchiha clan after the leader Madara and was the pinnacle of everything that stood for Uchiha. Lack of manners, stubbornness, stoicism, the works.

Then again, he had heard about Hyuuga Hiashi and he seemed to be the same way so maybe Hinata could deal with his father if he tried to give her a hard time. He doubted it though, seeing as they were a mixed clan.

Sasuke looked back and saw Sai pulling up behind them and got out with the other two in his car and the group walked to the front door. Itachi knocked on the glass of the door and soon they saw a figure draw nearer.

The door opened to reveal a beautiful woman.

"Oh! My babies!"

Sasuke winced from having his mother embarrass him but smiled anyway to see her. Mikoto flung open the door and raked up her two sons in her arms for a squashing hug.

"I wasn't expecting you to come so soon," she said, her face glowing. She looked over to the others. "Sai, Kin, Karin, it's so nice to see you again." Then she broke out an even wider smile. "You must be Hinata. Welcome to the Uchiha clan."

Hinata blushed. "Arigato…"

"Just call me Mikoto or Mikoto-san. Everyone does," Sasuke's mother told Hinata.

"It's nice to be here, Mikoto-san," said the timid girl.

Mikoto smiled and allowed them inside the house. She led them to the living room that had not really changed since he had left except for minor changes like the forty inch LCD and the change of curtains that she changed every month.

"Your father will be home soon from work," said Mikoto. "I was not expecting you all until tomorrow so I didn't make enough dinner but I'll get right to it. Your rooms are all upstairs and you can sort out how you'll sleep."

With that Mikoto left, heading for the kitchen which left them to go back to the cars to get their bags and trudge up the stairs to their rooms.

The five teenagers stood in the passageway looking at the three rooms. Sasuke's room, Itachi's and the guest room.

"Ok, I'm taking my old room," said Itachi and left, leaving the four.

"That's not fair," said Karin. "Now Sasuke will go in his old room, most likely with Hinata and Sai and Kin will take the guest room.

"That's not my problem," said Itachi as he closed his bedroom door.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was _not_ going to let Karin stay with him so he knew that Itachi would have to stay in the guest room with Karin, which had two beds and he and Hinata would move into his, leaving Sai and Karin to stay in his bedroom.

Some shouts and a few swears later, Sasuke and Hinata were unpacking their clothes in Itachi's room.

"I hope he isn't too angry," said Hinata, referring to Itachi. He had the entire house in deadly silence for about fifteen minutes when the arrangement was made until Mikoto had come to see the problem. The aura had dies down so all was well.

"He's fine now," said Sasuke

The two unpacked without saying anything, Sasuke catching glimpses of Hinata's underwear every few moments until they were finished. They both collapsed on the bed completely spent with Hinata sneezing from her allergies.

Hinata rolled over on her stomach as Sasuke remained on his back and she propped up on her elbows. She looked so serious Sasuke was not sure what she was about to say.

"Sasuke," she said. "I don't know how many times I'll say this but thank you so much for doing this for me."

Sasuke smiled. "It's for you, that's why," he said. "Hinata I waited forever to finally be with you."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"I liked you even before you were with Naruto."

Sasuke looked away, bracing himself for any wrong interpretations. What if she thought that he had some part in what Naruto did because he wanted her for himself or something?

Hinata was silent for awhile before she leaned forward to gently kiss him. His stomach clenched as it always did when he kissed her, doing somersaults and cartwheels.

"Why didn't you tell me you liked me?" asked Hinata. She seemed deep in thought. "… It was you, wasn't it?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Online. When I started to chat with Naruto. You were there, weren't you?" asked Hinata. "There were times when I swore I was talking to a different person… who I connected to more. That was you."

"…Hai."

Even though Hinata seemed so sure that it was true, her eyes opened another fraction in surprise. "It _was_ you!" Her face lit up as she nearly strangled Sasuke with a hug and pressed her lips on his, igniting both his and her thirst.

His thirst?

Sasuke felt Hinata's lips start to pulse from her thirst and she bit down on her tongue to sate it but Sasuke; something was happening to him too. He could feel his stomach coil. His consciousness went fuzzy and all he could think about was tasting the blood he could smell. Hinata appeared to sense it because she pushed him away with little difficulty and stared at him.

"Sasuke, bite your tongue quickly," she said and waited until he did before speaking again, this time looking at him directly. "Your eyes. They're red."

"Nani?" asked Sasuke. Then it dawned on him as bright as day. "You mean…"

"Hai," Hinata said with astonishment plastered on her face.

"You're awakening."

* * *

**_That's it readers! I really hope you liked this because I wrote a little every day so I am praying that it flows._**

**_If you've never read _****Hina hime****_ or_**** A Happy Ending****_ please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja_****_ ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	23. And So it Begins

_**Hi there, readers! I hope you like this chappie. I feel much better now so thanks to all those who wished me well.**_

_**Excuse any errors and R&R!!!**_

_**

* * *

x  
**_

**Chapter 23: And So it Begins**

**------**

Sasuke's thirst soared as he started to awaken. Looking at Hinata's shocked face, and bit his tongue, wincing at the pain. How Hinata did it was a mystery to him as he saw her sucking on her tongue as well to sate the thirst.

"Are you ok?" she asked. "Your eyes are going back to normal now."

"Yours too," said Sasuke. "I'm alright."

Hinata then gave a little squeal. "We're so close, Sasuke. It's happening right before our eyes."

That was true. Even though he only had a little training and some blood, Sasuke could feel his body changing ever so slowly.

"Can you feel it too, Hinata?" Sasuke asked his girlfriend.

Hinata stood still for a moment as though gauging herself before she replied. "I can't feel anything yet but maybe you can because you're not a vampire and I am," she said.

Just then, they both heard Mikoto calling them from downstairs to come to dinner.

They met up with the others and they all went down to the dining room. Sasuke's father, Fugaku, and Mikoto were already sitting at the table waiting for them to sit.

"Help yourselves," said Mikoto pointing to the juice on the table. She had some rice for herself. "Oh, Sasuke I nearly forgot about you. Here you go." She gave him a helping of rice as well. "Although I'm not sure how it will taste since you're converting tonight."

It was times like these that Sasuke wanted to ask his mother why she had never converted and decided to store the question at the back of his mind to ask her at a later date.

He glanced across at his father and frowned. Fugaku always had a mean look on his face. The only time he showed any other emotion was near Itachi. At least now he'd gotten some recognition since Fugaku had insisted he be converted by the clan.

"So, Sasuke," said Mikoto. "How has your week been?"

"It wasn't easy," Sasuke told her. "But it will be worth it."

Mikoto smiled. "That's good to hear.

They ate and drank in mild silence, bringing up conversations along the way.

"Itachi, did you prepare Sasuke well enough?" asked Fugaku.

"Hai, I believe so," said Itachi.

"What about Sai and the little Miss here?"

"When dinner is over, I have to get them ready."

Sasuke looked at the two in question. Sai looked calm and collected as he talked to Kin but Hinata was radiating excitement. She looked his way and gave a tiny grin and he smiled in return.

Fugaku got up from the table.

"Sasuke, we must go now to prepare," his father said.

Butterflies found their way in Sasuke's stomach but he put on a nonchalant expression and got up as well. He glanced back at the others, who had encouraging smirks or nervous smiles.

Wait," said Sasuke. He went back to the table and hoisted Hinata off her feet to drag her out of the kitchen.

"Sasuke, w-wait," stuttered Hinata.

Sasuke didn't even wait until they got into a room, but instead he pushed her against the wall by the stairs. "This can't wait, I may never see you again."

"Don't think like that," said Hinata. "We've cleared our hearts, nothing's weighing us down."

Sasuke!" came Fugaku's harsh voice, making them both wince.

"I know that, but anything can happen," said Sasuke faster now. He took a deep breath and then bit his tongue. "I love you, Hinata." He didn't even wait for her to reply but kissed her passionately before breaking the contact. Hinata looked flushed and stunned.

"I d-don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know," said Sasuke. "I have to go now."

Hinata nodded as Sasuke turned and walked away, not looking back. A smirk played across his lips. "When I see you on the other side I'm going to screw you so hard."

He didn't have to look back to know that Hinata had heard him and that her face was probably as red a beet.

Sasuke avoided walking through the kitchen again and met up with Fugaku.

"Come, let's go.

Sasuke followed his father as he was lead out through the door and into the streets. He could guess where they were going and felt his stomach churn. The last time h e saw that man he was at the ceremony to awaken Itachi.

He got many looks from other clan members but kept his head straight most of the time, nodding and waving slightly at those he knew. It seemed all of the awakened vampires could tell what was going on with him.

They walked for more than fifteen minutes and Sasuke had to wonder why they had not just taken the car but soon after he had thought that, Fugaku turned a corner and Sasuke was amazed at the sight he saw before him. When he was a child, he was never allowed near this area because it was sacred. Even now no one was around except for those who probably had business there. Right before him stood a beautiful mansion made of stone. The place was beautiful even though none of the plants were alive. All the flowers were dead and wilted and the grass brown and charred but it was one of the most wonderful and enchanting places he had ever been to.

Sasuke followed Fugaku up the stairs. His father used the brass locker in the shape of a bat to alert who ever was inside that they were there.

Sasuke heard footsteps come closer and then there was a long creak as the door was opened to reveal a dangerous looking vampire. His fangs naturally barred and his skin as pale as porcelain.

"State you business for being here," said the man.

"There's no need to act like that, I'm an elder," said Fugaku. "I'm here to take my son to Madara."

"Ah, yes," said the man, staring down Sasuke with his crimson eyes. Sasuke figured the place needed someone like him to be the guard to keep people away. He was certainly doing his job because Sasuke felt like taking his feet for a run any moment. "Gomen for my rudeness, Fugaku-san, it is my job."

"I understand, Shuskai," said Fugaku.

Shuskai opened the huge oak door more and stepped aside for them to pass. Their footsteps echoed on the marble floor as they made their way to where Madara was.

"He is in the gardens," said Shuskai. "If you'll excuse me." He went back to his post incase someone else came to the door.

Fugaku led Sasuke through the halls and down corridors, around corners and through arches until they came to another door that no doubt was to the gardens.

Fugaku opened the door. "Go on."

Sasuke was a little unsure at the hair that rose on his skin and how chills ran right own his spine but ignored it and walked through the door. What Sasuke saw nearly knocked him back on his behind.

This was what they called the gardens? It was like Hell and Heaven all at once to Sasuke. It was dark and ominous but so amazing and inviting he couldn't help but want to go further. Sasuke's eyes darted at every little movement but every sound was like music to his ears. They walked further down the path and Sasuke saw the leader of the Uchiha clan.

Madara was standing at the end of the path as though waiting for them to arrive and turned around to face them. He certainly looked the part of the clan leader. The black cloak he wore was rimmed with red and swirled around him with the nonexistent wind and his hair long and as black as his hair framed his sharp features.

"Fugaku. Sasuke," he addressed them.

Sasuke and his father gave a curt nod. "Madara-sama," they both said.

"This way," Madara said beckoning them in the direction he was going in. They came upon the darkest part of the gardens. Madara sat on the ground and indicated they do the same.

"Tonight, Sasuke, you will be converted into a vampire," said Madara. "One of us; the undead, the nightwalkers. Are you ready to take such a step?"

"I am," said Sasuke. This was the point of his life that Sasuke knew he had his mind made up and he was not turning back.

"You know the circumstances and conditions that comes with being a vampire?"

"I do."

"Very well," said Madara. He turned his attention to Fugaku. "You give this boy into the night?"

"I do," replied Fugaku.

"So it shall begin."

Madara stood up, leaving Sasuke on the ground. Sasuke did not know what was going to happen from this point but he was ready.

The leader held out his hand for Sasuke to take and pulled him up and his father got up as well. "I will now take you to where you will dwell until tomorrow at midnight," said Madara.

Without releasing Sasuke's hand, he took him all the way to a small hut-like structure made of stone and opened the door. Inside was a single futon and candles lit around it; a glass was next to the futon. In all honesty, Sasuke was expecting a coffin and nearly laughed at his imagination.

"You will remove your clothes," Madara told him. "You must be bare to the night."

As Sasuke stripped, he hoped that Hinata would not have to do the same in front of his brother and Sai. Clearing his head of the thoughts, he waited for further instruction.

His father walked around him and took up the sheet that was on the bed.

"You will be wrapped to keep your body in place as your insides, spirit and soul changes," said Fugaku and proceeded to walk around Sasuke, bounding him with the sheet that smelled of roses tightly. His father then picked him up and laid him on the bed.

Madara pulled a tiny sack from the pocket of his cloak and opened it, taking out a small vial of blood. "This is my essence, the blood that runs through the veins of many vampires of this clan," said Madara. "With the drinking of this blood, you will have accepted to die.

He was going to die and he was ready. Letting out a breath he steeled himself as the clan leader came to him with the blood. Madara pressed the vial against Sasuke's opened, trembling lips and he drank. The smell alone was some of the most powerful scents he had ever inhaled but that was nothing compared to the taste.

It was like strong wine, burning his tongue and throat as it slid down, igniting his insides. Even the small amount was incredible, swaying Sasuke's senses as his eyes blurred. Both Madara and Fugaku stood over him as though waiting for something to happen and Sasuke understood when a pain shot through his body, making him release a scream unwillingly.

Madara bent down and took up what looked liked a spike from the floor- a silver stake. "Though the human believe vampires can die from the silver stake, it is merely a myth. It was witnessed that a vampire was pierced with a stake and was pronounced dead but the full meaning was not understood because it is just a step in becoming an ST."

Sasuke was in the middle of trying to get why Madara was telling him that information, when Madara stepped forward and without warning, he drove the stake through Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes opened wide in shock and the heart stopping pain that went through him as he could feel his heart trying to pump even though the stake had gone through it. There was no way to describe the feeling as Sasuke coughed up blood.

"Now that you are officially converting, your body will slow down, resulting in your death," said Madara. "Even before I've finished speaking you will be dead. At eleven in the night tomorrow, I will come back to bring you to life again as the undead and…"

But Sasuke heard no more as his heated body now felt as cold and stiff as ice or board, his mind slowing down considerably, making his consciousness completely blank. His legs were already numb and it was seeping up rapidly, giving Sasuke no time to prepare. But then he heard and saw and felt no more as his whole body relaxed as he exhaled, releasing his life from his grasp.

* * *

x

Hinata was still in shock as she followed Itachi and Sai. No one had ever spoken to her in such an explicit manner and she was not sure how to take it. Somehow, for sure she didn't hate it.

Itachi led them to the basement door and signaled for them to go in. Inside there were two beds that Hinata figured were for Sai and herself. They were made with black silk sheets and littered with white and red rose petals, making the room smell intoxicating.

"You will sleep here until the sun sets," said Itachi. "My father will come for you, Sai and I'll come back for Hinata. When that time comes, you must be well-rested and free of everything. Leave it all in the past or you will risk the chance of dying."

Even as Itachi spoke, Hinata was trying to rid her thoughts of losing Sasuke and of Naruto kissing her the other day. Focusing on nothing at all, Hinata nodded.

"See you at sunset," said Itachi. He reached in his pocket and took out two vials of blood and gave them both one. "This is my blood for you, Hinata and my father's blood for you, Sai. It also has the blood of the clan leader, Madara." Hinata and Sai took the blood. "Take it when you are sure you have gotten rid of everything." Itachi gave them one final encouraging smile, as small as it was, and he left the room in a swirl of crows.

Hinata took a deep breath and exhaled. Sai came up behind her hugging her from behind.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Hai," said Hinata.

"That's good." Sai let her go and went to his bed and Hinata did the same, relaxing into the warm sheets and toying with a few of the silky petals and the tiny container of blood. "Ready?"

Hinata looked across at him. "Hai."

She opened the little vial, inhaling the strong scent and Sai did the same. Hinata tilted her head to drink the blood and was mildly surprised at the taste. She had tasted Itachi's blood before and it was nothing short of incredible, but there was another taste that was very strong. It was powerful, making Hinata's head spin.

"Whoa," came Sai's voice from the other bed and Hinata figured he had experienced it too.

The blood was lighting up Hinata as it went down, relaxing her completely and making her drowsy. The room was filled with nothing but the breathing of Hinata and Sai.

"Well, Hinata," said Sai. "I'll see you later."

"Hai," Hinata replied. Feeling exhausted. The slowed breathing from Sai told her that he was already asleep.

As Hinata lay still, she cleared her head of everything in the past, just hoping that Hanabi would have had a good time and be back home safely and that Neji was not missing her as much as she was missing him. She hoped Sasuke would be alright and whatever he had to do would not be too painful because she knew he had to die.

She had not even replied to what he had said earlier. Did she love him though? Of course she did. He was the one who picked her up when Naruto had broken her and made her happy again without asking for nothing in return but her love in return.

But Hinata was afraid to say she loved him. What if she had been jinxed somehow? The last time she had said that she loved someone, it turned out to be the worst idea and she did not want that to happen again. She wanted everything to stay as it was for now and smiled to know that Sasuke would not mind and as sleep took over, Hinata couldn't wait to see him again.

*

Hinata woke up to the calling of her name and a slight shake of her shoulders that was making her thirsty. Unconsciously biting her tongue, Hinata opened her eyes to see Itachi staring down at her.

"It's time to get up, Hinata," he said.

Hinata nodded and sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes after such a long and peaceful sleep before swinging herself off the bed. She looked across at where Sai had been and saw that he was already gone already.

"Otou-san took Sai downstairs so come on," Itachi told her.

Hinata trailed Itachi downstairs where Fugaku and Sai were waiting.

"Are you well rested?" Fugaku asked her and she confirmed. "Good. Itachi and I will take you both for counseling and meet again to go into the forest."

Itachi took her hand and carried her back up the stairs while Fugaku led Sai elsewhere. When they got to Itachi's room, they went inside and sat on cushions placed on the floor.

"During this time you can tell me whatever is on your mind and ask me what you like," said Itachi. "Since you've been through all the necessary training you understand what will happen, right?"

"Hai," said Hinata. She thought for awhile before asking him a question. "What is like being an ST? Does it feel any different from how I am now? Does it hurt to change?"

"I think you know the answer to the last question," Itachi said. "Of course it will hurt and the healing process will be slower than usual because of the circumstances. Being a stage three vampire is ten times better than a normal vampire because you can manipulate things your mind had never thought to possess before and after eighteen, you age every hundred years, making you feel young and vibrant while living many human life spans."

Hinata listened closely, soaking up everything Itachi said.

"Every two hundred years you will have to be reborn and of course, being a stage three vampire comes with the price of actually dying before becoming the undead," Itachi continued. "This includes Sasuke who is, at this moment, dead."

Hinata's heart skipped a beat when she heard that as they spoke, Sasuke was no longer among the living. It nearly ripped out her heart to know that but she hardened herself, knowing it was all part of the steps to being an ST.

"You won't have to die, but when the ceremony is over, you will be staring death in the face. Only being a vampire will save you," said Itachi. "You will be staked and shot."

"Why wasn't I told about this before?" asked Hinata, panic rising now.

"It is the custom of our clan. Imagine how I felt when I found out," said Itachi. "I was fourteen."

"I'm sixteen," said Hinata. "There's no big difference. But about being staked and shot. Why does that have to be done?"

"Humans are destructive creatures," said Itachi. "If they come across anything that is out of their category of what is 'normal' they seek to destroy it. It was believed that driving a silver or wooden stake through the heart of a vampire will kill them. Even shooting us with silver bullets was seen and probably is still seen as a way to get rid of us.

"It is within the tradition of vampires to do just that to show that humans hold no power over us and even after being staked or shot, we will live."

"I understand," said Hinata.

Hinata and Itachi talked for what seemed like hours and in the end, it really was hours that they had chatted away. Hinata glanced at the clock on Itachi's nightstand and saw that it was nearly nine-thirty.

Itachi looked at it too and got up, reaching for Hinata's hand to pull her up, causing the girl to bite her tongue.

"I suppose you would like to stretch your legs," said Itachi. "We can go for a walk around town until it is time to go to the forest. No doubt my father is still talking to Sai."

Itachi took Hinata to the kitchen and saw Mikoto, who was putting on her coat.

"Hi," she said. "I'm going to help prepare for the children's turning so I'm leaving now."

With a wave and a smile, Mikoto was out of the kitchen and the door was heard opening and shutting as she left.

Itachi went to the fridge and took out a box of juice. "After today, it will never taste the same so you should have one now," he told her.

Itachi gave Hinata the juice and she gratefully took it and drank like she would never drink again and asked for another. She now understood how Sasuke had felt at not being able to eat again.

The two went outside and into the streets. No children were out playing since it was so late in the night but Hinata could see far in the distance bright lights as though there was a little city. "What's over there?" asked Hinata, pointing to the place in question.

"That's the liveliest part of the village," said Itachi. "Parties are held over there every Friday and Saturday."

They walked around some more and then it was time to go back to the house. Mikoto would not be back since she had to play a part in the process of their awakening and Fugaku must have been gone as well because they could hear Sai and Kin's voices as well as Karin's upstairs.

"You can go talk to them but be asleep by one in the morning," said Itachi. "I have to go as well with the others who will be at the ceremony. See you there."

Hinata smiled at him. "Arigatou."

Hinata watched as Itachi disappeared in a flutter of wings and went upstairs to talk with the others. When it was nearly one, Hinata went into Sasuke's room and got ready for bed. Missing Sasuke already, Hinata got into bed and hugged his pillow, praying that he would wake up the next day.

She hoped they would both make it as well as Sai as she drifted to sleep.

* * *

x

_**I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope that you enjoyed reading it as well. I hope everything flowed because I actually wrote this in one and I have not done that in a while.**_

_**Please read **_**Hina hime** _**or **_**A Happy Ending** _**if you have not tried them yet.**_

_**Until next update…**_

_**Ja**_ _**ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_


	24. And So it Ends

_**Hi readers! Well once again I'm sick, but I hope it doesn't harm my writing. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.**_

_**Excuse any errors and R&R!!!**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

**Chapter 24: And So it Ends  
**

**-------**

Hinata woke up with the room spinning violently. Shaking her head a little, she looked across the room to see that Sai was sitting up on his bed.

"You ok?" he asked her and Hinata nodded, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"What time is it?" Hinata asked.

"It's about one in the afternoon," said Sai. "Itachi and my uncle should be down here soon or they may be waiting for us to go upstairs."

Sai got up as well as Hinata and swung themselves off the bed, but as soon as Hinata stood up she felt a sharp pain from her stomach. Sai rushed over, grunting in pain as well as he held her up.

"You have to be careful," he told her. "Our bodies aren't fully developed yet so don't push too hard."

"Gomen," Hinata apologized. She took a few breaths and stood straight.

"Let's go upstairs."

When they got there, Itachi and Fugaku were indeed waiting for them and stood to greet them.

"How are you both feeling?" Fugaku asked.

"We're fine," said Sai. "Just a little weak."

"That's fine, you'll feel like that until you're fully changed. Let's get you both something to drink."

Fugaku and Itachi led them to the kitchen where they drank some water and were sitting at the table when Kin and Karin were heard coming down the stairs. They hugged Hinata and Sai and asked how they were doing and left to walk around the village, leaving the four in a comfortable silence when Hinata remembered something.

"Ano… can I use your phone?" she asked and got up to go to the living room.

Dialing the desired number, Hinata waited as the phone rang for someone to wake up.

"_Moshi moshi?_"

"Hi, Neji," said Hinata, recognizing he voice.

"_Hinata_?" came her cousin's voice. "Is everything ok?"

"Hai. I'm just calling to say hi. How's Hanabi? Did you check up on her last night?"

"She was sleeping when I checked on her," said Neji. "Why?"

"No reason," Hinata said quickly. "It's just that Hanabi was worried about me when I left so I just wanted to know if she's alright."

Neji didn't sound convinced but he went along with it anyway. "So how's everything? You're changing tonight, right?"

"Hai. Well I just woke up and my body is in a bit of pain from the reconstructing, but other than that it's all good."

"How's Sasuke?"

Hinata hesitated. "He's ano… dead at the moment."

Silence rang through her ear before Neji spoke again. "How are you getting on with that?"

"I'm taking it ok, I guess," she told him. "I know he'll be fine."

"How are the others?"

"Sai's going through the same as me and Kin and Karin just went out. Itachi's fine as well."

"Hinata."

Hinata looked around and saw Itachi standing in the doorway. "You have to clean up and meet with the clan leader," he told her."

Hinata nodded and turned away. "Neji," she said. "I have to go now so I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Hai," said Neji. "Oh, and Hinata? Be careful and come back to me."

"I will," Hinata said with a smile. "Ja!"

She hung up and turned to Itachi. "What do I do now?" she asked.

"Sai has already gone to cleanse with my father so you have to come with me," said Itachi.

Hinata followed Itachi out the living room and up the stairs to a bathroom. As soon as Itachi opened the door, a strong scent hit Hinata's nose. Hinata went right in and saw Itachi dip his hand in the strangely colored water to see if it was alright.

"It's just fine," he told her. "This is an herbal bath. It will wash away every trace of human you have on you."

"Okay."

Hinata walked closer to the tub and passed her fingers on the surface of the warm water and felt her fingers tingle. Looking at Itachi in question, she got her answer.

"It is to remove everything from the skin. The burning or tingling you feel is when it's doing its job. It peels off the elements and scars you had as a human and refreshes the skin. You'll bathe with this once a month from now on since you're in such close contact with humans."

"So I have to bathe with this before I go to see my clan?" asked Hinata.

"That's right. You wouldn't want to go there smelling like a human," said Itachi. "Your mother probably bathed in herbs everyday because of your father."

"I can't remember bathing with it," Hinata said.

"You were a child. Vampire infants naturally cleanse themselves because they are so innocent and have not been awakened to the taste of blood yet."

Hinata understood. She looked at him nervously. "Do I have to bathe with you in here?" she asked.

"Hai," I have to help you," said Itachi.

"Nani?!"

"Sai has to go through the same thing, as did I," said Itachi. "Would you have preferred my father to wash you instead?"

"Iie! It's fine," Hinata squeaked, making Itachi chuckle. He turned as she stripped and got in the tub.

She could feel the tingle, which, was close to a burning, sensation on her skin and it made her shiver. Itachi turned around and reached over her to get the wash cloth.

Hinata was glad the water looked so murky and kept her hand over her chest. Itachi started to rub her back and shoulders and told her to hold out her arms as well. He scrubbed her hair and washed her face. All of the attention made Hinata feel like a small child and she started to relax, not finding the situation embarrassing anymore.

"Stand."

Hinata jolted out of her trance and looked at Itachi. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't," he told her.

Hinata swallowed harshly and stood up slowly to not slip from the oily water, covering her breasts with one hand and her private area with the other. She shivered as the cold air hit her skin.

Itachi took up a bucket from the side and dipped it in the tub, pouring the contents over Hinata's head. He then took the cloth and carefully cleaned her lower back and thighs. Hinata thought she would die from embarrassment. She was sure Fugaku was probably scrubbing the skin off Sai at the moment, trying to get the bath over with but Itachi was taking his time.

She supposed he was trying not to hurt her too much since her skin burned when he scrubbed it and smiled at his consideration.

"Turn around," he told her, and she did as was told, facing him as he washed the front of her body. He washed her hair again and poured the water over her, and then he washed her face and neck and came down.

"Don't worry," he told her. "It's not like I'm going to touch my future sister-in-law inappropriately." He skipped her upper torso. "You'll wash your upper and lower parts yourself."

He washed her belly and her legs and then turned away to wash his hands at the sink. "You can finish up from here," he said. "Don't take more than five minutes because we have to take you and Sai to Madara."

Itachi walked to the door and exited, leaving Hinata to finish her bath and when she was done, she got up and unplugged the tub and got out. She toweled off and wrapped the towel around her to go outside. Itachi was waiting on her when she came out and handed her some clothes.

"Get dressed and come downstairs, ok?"

"Hai."

Itachi left her alone and shut the door for her to get ready. When she was done she rushed downstairs to see the three males waiting on her.

They left the house and walked and Hinata had to wonder why they couldn't have driven in the car when they turned a corner and came upon a beautiful stone mansion. They walked up the steps and Fugaku rapped on the door with the knocker. As they waited for someone to open the door, Hinata looked around in awe at the surroundings.

There were no children running around in this area as she had seen them as she walked here. The place was most strange. There was no life to it at all and yet it was swimming with something that drew her closer. The plants and flowers were all dead but nothing was out of place; it was meant to be this way.

The door opened and a wild-looking man appeared in the doorway.

"Ah, Fugaku-sama. Itachi-san," the man said.

"Shuskai," the addressed replied.

The man now known to Hinata as Shuskai looked past Fugaku to observe Hinata and Sai and Hinata felt uncomfortable under his stare, wondering if he looked at everyone he met the way he was staring them down.

"I assume your business is to bring these two to Madara-sama?" Shuskai asked and Fugaku gave a short nod.

Shuskai stepped aside for them to pass. "Madara-sama is waiting for you in the gardens," he said.

The four of them were led by Shuskai down corridors, around corridors, under arches until they came to a door that no doubt led to the gardens.

"I'll take my leave," the fierce-looking vampire said and left them. Fugaku opened the door and ushered Hinata and the others through the door.

Hinata could see that the gardens were no gardens at all. It was like a forest, but not exactly. It had a feel that made you want to run back through the door but yet it made you want to explore. If ever there was a way to describe the undead, this was it. All the leaves of the trees were brown and withered but not one leaf was on the ground. The grass was charred and the flowers just as dead and withered as those that were outside the mansion. The sounds of the dry leaves crackled, sounding like music to Hinata's ears.

Hinata neck snapped in all directions at the place as did Sai's while they were led down a path and Hinata's breath hitched when she saw the being at the end.

She had no way to describe him. He was beautiful with the absent wind blowing through his long spiked hair and swirling his cloak around his ankles. He held up his hand in greeting.

"Welcome to my home," he said. "Come this way.

His voice demanded and controlled and it seemed as though Hinata's feet moved on their own at his words. Hinata reached for Itachi's hand as they followed the clan leader dark into the gardens until they came to a small clearing. Madara stopped and sat on the ground and motioned for them to sit as well.

"Tonight, Sai and Hinata, you will be changed to stage three vampires," said Madara. "You will enter the full realm of the undead and fully welcome the night. Are you both ready?"

"Hai," the two said.

"I believe you both know the ways of the vampires," said Madara. "Who gives Sai into the night?"

"I do," said Fugaku.

"Who gives Hinata into the night?"

"I do," said Itachi."

Madara nodded. "And so it shall finish." He got up from his seated position as well as Fugaku and Itachi, leaving Hinata and Sai on the ground. Madara held out his hand for both of them to help them up and Hinata felt the jolt from his touch but refused to bite her tongue.

"Smart girl," said Madara. "It is not wise to shed blood in my presence unless I have permitted it. Your instinct told you that even though you are not of this clan and I felt your thirst. You as well Sai."

The clan leader took them back through the gardens and through the door. They went through the mansion and went back to the front door.

"I will see you at one minute before eleven tonight," said Madara.

On the walk home, Hinata remembered that she had wanted to ask about Sasuke but it had slipped her mind completely. When they got home, Fugaku turned to Sai and Hinata who were trailing behind.

"We'll go to the garage," he told them. "We prepared it for you already. Hinata and Sai were led to the side of the house to the garage and they went inside and saw two beds draped in rose petals as the ones were that they had slept on the night before, except there was a screen in the middle of the two futons. Candles lit the room and two glasses were on the side of either futon.

Fugaku led Sai to his side of the room and Itachi took Hinata's hand and led her to her side. Once she got to her side she couldn't hear anything from the other side nor could she see anything through the thin screen. It was as though it were only Hinata and Itachi in the garage. "You have to take off your clothes," he told her.

"Again?" said Hinata biting her lip.

"It is so that you will be bare to the night," Itachi said. "My brother had to do it as well as Sai; you are no different."

Hinata gave a sigh and took off her clothing, looking down in embarrassment. Itachi took the sheet from the bed.

"I have to wrap you to keep your body still as night takes flight," he said and walked around her as he bound her with the cloth tightly.

The sheet smelled like the roses that littered the futon and floor. He then lifted her and laid her on the futon carefully and then bit his wrist. Itachi brought his hand to her mouth and Hinata didn't have to be told to drink the familiar sweet taste of his blood. Itachi only allowed her a small amount and pulled his hand away, licking to wound.

"With the drinking of my essence, you have accepted to completely be taken by the night," said Itachi. He reached down and took up a small sack that Hinata had not noticed was there.

Before Hinata could register, Itachi took out a wooden stake and drove it through her heart. Hinata never screamed so hard in her entire life as she felt the tip puncture her heart. She was so engrossed in the fact that Itachi had just stabbed her that she did not realize when he took a gun from the sack and pointed it at her chest.

She more heard the gun go off than she felt the bullet intrude her body. Itachi looked at her grimly.

"You probably won't even hear what I'm saying but when you wake up you'll be ready to take the final step of becoming a stage three," said Itachi and he was right, because Hinata could only see his lips moving but she heard no sound whatsoever. Her eyelids felt heavy and she closed her eyes. She felt a hand brushing back her hair from her face but her main focus was the feeling she was experiencing.

It was incredibly scary feeling her heart clench around the foreign object embedded in it and the pull of her skin over the bullet wound even though she could feel her flesh pushing it back out. It was a strange feeling and Hinata more than welcomed the sleep that took over her.

* * *

Sasuke's consciousness came about slowly as he felt someone prodding at his chest. He could tell it was night even though his eyes were closed and a soft light danced beyond his eyelids.

Sasuke didn't even have time to open his eyes before a searing pain erupted from his chest, bringing him fully awake with a yell. He attempted to sit up but hands held his shoulders down.

"Keep still, Sasuke."

Sasuke recognized his father's voice and relaxed, feeling the pain ebb away slowly. He opened his eyes watching his father as he tenderly inspecting his chest. He took a knife from the side and sliced away at the cloth Sasuke was wrapped in and put his palm flat down on the left side, closing his eyes as though searching for something. He then moved his hand slowly to the right side.

"How do you feel, Sasuke," his father asked.

Sasuke kept completely still, trying to figure out what he felt. He felt completely different now that he though about it and what was a shock; he could feel a pulse by his father's hand.

"You feel that, right?" his father asked and Sasuke bit his lip.

"I've converted?" Sasuke asked with wide eyes.

"Hai," Fugaku said with a small smile. "Your body has been successfully been converted and you are almost in the night."

Sasuke gave a sigh of relief but then started to cough repeatedly and Fugaku reached over and quickly gave him some water.

"Take it easy," he said to him. "I said almost. Not fully a vampire. Your body has to get used to the change so breathe easily and slowly and keep still."

Sasuke did as was told as he drank the water slowly and then rested his head back. "What else do I have to do?"

"It is now ten in the night. You will lie here until thirteen minutes past twelve. I'll come for you and you'll be taken to the middle of the gardens where you will be accepted by the clan," said Fugaku. "There, you we'll have the official ceremony."

"Hai," said Sasuke. "What's going on with Hinata and Sai?"

"They are about to wake up from their temporary slumber," said Fugaku. "I have to go back now to take them to the forest."

Fugaku stood up and it was then that he saw the blood on his hands. Sasuke craned his neck to look down to his chest without moving and saw that his cut was visibly healing before his eyes. He had not realized the pulling of skin until now.

"I'm going now," his father said as he started to walk away. "Don't forget not to move."

As his father left and closed the door behind him with a creaky snap, Sasuke watched the wound heal, fascinated that his skin was melding together again over where his heart used to be. He knew he was not supposed to move, but Sasuke could not help but slowly lift his hand to his chest to feel for himself.

There, beneath his hand on the right side of his upper torso, beat his heart. Sasuke did not know how to feel at the moment from such a change but it was indeed incredible to experience such a drastic difference. He knew that his insides were now the exact opposite of before and he smiled, knowing that he had wanted this from when he was younger.

All he had to do was wait a little while longer and he would be a full fledged vampire; a nightwalker.

The only thing he would miss was the food.

* * *

A scream was ripped from Hinata's lungs as she felt the stake being removed. Tears streamed down the side of her face as she opened her eyes.

"Shh, it's ok," said Itachi as he wiped away the tears. "It's almost over."

Hinata gave a pained smile and tried to talk but couldn't find the energy to do so.

"Pull yourself together, Hinata," said Itachi. "We have to go to the forest.

Hinata nodded and took a deep breath, feeling her wounds heal rapidly with discomfort. The sheet she was wrapped in was soaked with blood but she was pulled to her feet by Itachi and he unraveled the cloth, leaving her bare.

Hinata heard a small tinkle and looked down to see the silver bullet her body had pushed out rolling on the floor. She then looked down and saw the stab wound closing up right before her eyes and she also looked for where the bullet had been but saw nothing but dried blood.

Itachi gave her a wet cloth to clean of her chest and then he wiped off any other splatters of blood on her and gave the girl a dress to put on as well as underwear and Hinata's face flushed.

"My mother gave me the clothes for you. I didn't go digging in your panty drawer or anything," Itachi explained.

He turned around as she dressed and when she was done he showed her to a pair of slippers to put on.

"Let's go."

Hinata followed Itachi outside and saw that Sai and Fugaku were already walking into the forest. The forest was foreboding, making the hair on Hinata's neck rise as they made their way through the cluster of clawed trees.

Not long after, they came to an area free of trees and there were vampires, who Hinata figured were elders, standing waiting on them with lit candles, creating an eerie glow in the clearing. Itachi and Fugaku led Sai and Hinata to the middle of the circle and indicated they sit where there was a lumpy sack.

Hinata and Sai sat, waiting for what was to happen next as Itachi and his father took their places.

"We are all here to witness the full awakening of Uchiha Sai and Hyuuga Hinata of the Hitomi clan," said Madara. Hinata's head snapped around at hearing what he had said and wondered how he knew that she was from the Hitomi clan, but then she realized that he would have to know in order for everything to go well. "All of those who object speak now."

Hinata could hear the threatening sound in his voice, daring anyone to interrupt the ceremony and it sent a chill down her spine. No one spoke or even moved a muscle.

"That's good to know," said Madara. He bent down and took up the sack and reached into it, taking out a box of matches. "The ceremony of awakening will now begin."

The clan leader walked over to another vampire as the others formed a proper circle around them. Hinata started to get comfortable with the situation. She looked at Sai and saw that he was the same. Glancing at the other vampires around her, she saw that hey were expressionless except Itachi, who gave her an encouraging smile. Mikoto was there as well although Hinata couldn't understand why since she was not a vampire as far as she knew. Maybe it was because Sai was her nephew.

Walking anti-clockwise, the woman lit all the candles that were on the floor as the others blew out the ones they were holding, making an even glow surround them. She then took her place among the others who now sat on their feet in a bowed position, eyes closed. Madara was the only person who was not within the circle. He stood in it next to Sai and Hinata and took out a jewel-encrusted dagger. He then took out two silver goblets and put them each in front of Hinata and Sai on the ground and turned to her.

"Give me your hand," said Madara and Hinata did as was told, holding up her palm to the man, only to have it slit.

Hinata winced a little and her senses were heightened as the scent of blood filled the air. He told her to give him her other hand and she did, having that cut as well. Madara held her hands over the goblet in front of her and squeezed so that the blood would flow faster, spilling over the rim and staining the ground.

Madara took up the goblet and lifted to drink from it, his eyes closed as he thoroughly enjoyed the taste and then he took the goblet away from his lips and opened his eyes to reveal his scarlet eyes. He looked at the others and ordered them to stand, his voice husky enough to give Hinata goose bumps. He walked over to Itachi and Itachi blindly reached for the goblet to drink as well. He passed the goblet to the others and Hinata watched, completely engrossed in the sight.

Her body was losing a lot of blood and she felt quite weak but Hinata tried not to show it, even though she was sure she was losing color from all the blood she had lost during the day.

The last person drained the goblet and threw it in the middle of the circle in her direction and then they all opened their eyes; piercing and crimson.

The same routine was done with Sai and as his goblet was thrown their way, Madara came to them, looming over them both.

"Stand."

They both rose from their seated positions and Madara stepped to Hinata. He ran his hand over her chest and along her middle, inspecting every inch. Hinata stood completely still, hoping that nothing was wrong and gave a sigh of relief when he removed his hands from under her right breast.

He did the same to Sai, inspecting him to make sure everything was fine before taking a step back to survey them both.

"Itachi and Fugaku," the man said and the two addressed left their positions in the circle to stand in the circle, both their eyes still glowing as red as the others. Madara backed Sai and Hinata to face them.

"You have successfully given Uchiha Sai and Hyuuga Hinata of the Hitomi clan into the night," said the clan leader. The two bowed respectfully and then Madara faced Hinata and Sai once more.

"And now I shall take of their blood so they will remain tied to where they were awakened."

Hinata shivered as Sai was bitten harshly by Madara and dreaded her turn when the boy fainted. Fugaku held him up as Madara stepped towards her and lifted him up.

Hinata's breathing increased as Madara drew closer and gasped as he held her shoulders and pressed his teeth into the vein in her neck, sucking deeply as he took her blood.

She could feel herself fading away as Madara removed his fangs from her neck and she sagged, only to be caught by Itachi when she lost consciousness.

* * *

Sasuke woke up to his father shaking him awake.

"Come, Sasuke."

He brought Sasuke to his feet and the younger Uchiha realized that his cuts were healed, just leaving crusted blood. His father took a damp cloth and cleaned him after he unwrapped the cloth and gave him his clothes to put on.

Fugaku then took him outside into the gardens without another word and soon they came upon where he had met Madara the first time, only now there were many other vampires sitting in a square with four candles at each corner.

The scene reminded him of when he had witnessed Itachi's awakening and he involuntarily shivered. He was taken to the middle of the square where Madara was standing and was told to sit.

"Bow," demanded the clan leader and Sasuke did as he was ordered. "All who objects to the conversion of Uchiha Sasuke speak now."

No one answered, giving Madara the indication to continue and he looked at Sasuke.

"Do you welcome the night?"

"Hai," said Sasuke.

Madara did not have the dagger of the goblet with him that he had used with Itachi as he remembered, but what he asked for was even worse in Sasuke's opinion.

"Bring the sword and the goblet," said Madara and his father brought the sword that was given to him by another vampire and gave it to him as well as the goblet.

Sasuke had fully expected Madara to cut his wrist and gave his blood to everyone that was there, but he did the exact opposite, putting down the sword and walking away from Sasuke to the first vampire; his father.

"Produce," he said.

Fugaku held his hand to his mouth and bit his wrist, holding out his bleeding hand to the goblet that Madara was holding out. The clan leader went to every other member of the ceremony and they all gave their blood until the goblet was full.

Madara then bit his own wrist and let the blood drip in as well. He walked back to the middle of the square and set the goblet on the ground and took up the sword he had placed on the ground.

He then dipped the tip of the sword in the goblet and stirred gently, allowing the blood to mix and the aroma of all the different scents of blood made Sasuke dizzy with thirst. Madara looked up from his stirring to look at Sasuke and smirked. He took up the goblet and took it to Sasuke.

"Drink."

Sasuke timidly took the blood and touched the rim of the goblet to his lips, inhaling the blood. He could not believe that he was not as repulsed as before about drinking peoples' blood that he did not know. Instead, he was just itching to taste it and blamed the urge on the loss of blood earlier.

Sasuke opened his mouth and drank, gulping down the thick liquid and feeling it slid along his tongue and into his system, filling him completely as he emptied the goblet.

He gave it back to Madara and looked around at the others who were now looking at him with interest. The older man told him to stand and he did. Madara then moved his hand over Sasuke's chest for what seemed like forever before he removed them.

"Fugaku," the man said. His father came up to them. "Uchiha Sasuke has successfully converted and his body has accepted the blood. You must mark him as one of us."

Fugaku bowed slightly and Sasuke waited for what was to come next. Madara gave the sword to his father. Fugaku took the sword that was still stained with blood and licked it once, making his eyes change. He then took Sasuke's hand and sliced his arm, earning a hiss from the boy. His father then ran the blade along his arm, collecting the blood and Madara gave him a small vial in which Fugaku dipped the blood.

"Your blood will be kept in the house of Uchiha from now on," said Madara. "As well as with me."

Sasuke watched as Madara came closer and took him by the shoulders and leaned in towards his neck. Sasuke could feel himself becoming dizzy as his blood was taken so quickly and was sure that Madara could kill a human from one feeding. The younger Uchiha winced as he felt the fangs leave his skin, sliding out carefully and swayed from blood loss. His father caught him and bowed to Madara again and the clan leader did the same.

"And so it ends."

* * *

_**And that's that readers! I had a lot of fun writing and I hope you liked it, but I must go now since it's so late. It's 11:56 right now so I can't say a lot because I must get this to you before tomorrow, Monday. Sorry to my Beta :(  
**_

_**If you have not read **_**Hina hime** _**or **_**A Happy Ending** _**please do so.**_

_**Until next update…**_

_**Ja**_ _**ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_


	25. Late

_**Hi readers! I've had quite a laugh from some of your reviews. Did you actually think I would end the fic there? There's still some more to go although I'm not sure how much since I think as I type lol. But last chapter was not the last. Sorry about the late update but… it's Christmas. I have lots to do like clean and shop, plus I'm sick again ON CHRISTMAS. This will be around 2,500 wds.**_

_**I hope you all have a great Christmas!**_

_**Excuse any errors and R&R!!!**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

**Chapter 25: Late  
**

**-------**

Sasuke was aware of everything around him. He could tell it was rather late in the morning from the heat in the room and opened his eyes to squint at the window to see that he was right although the curtains were still drawn to keep out the burn of the sun.

He was… almost afraid to look outside. The thought of the sun burning him was terrifying. Sasuke sat up and backed away, his back hitting the cool wall and sighed as he closed his eyes.

Just then the door opened to reveal his mother. She sat next to him and smoothed his hair and he could tell she was fussing over the fact that it never lay flat.

"Are you alright," she asked softly.

"I don't know," said Sasuke.

"You're afraid to look outside, aren't you?" she asked with a knowing look, getting a slight nod from Sasuke. "It's just the effects of your instincts kicking in. You'll have a small case of phobias like phengophobia, catoptrophobia and such for a little while."

"What are those?" asked Sasuke.

"Fear of sunlight and fear of mirrors," his mother explained.

"I can understand the fear of the sun, but why would I be afraid of mirrors?"

Just then, there was a scream from downstairs and Sasuke recognized it as Hinata's. Jumping out of bed and ignoring the slight pull behind his naval, he ran down the stairs to the room he heard her in; his mother close behind.

When he opened the door, he found Hinata staring at the mirror on the wall in total horror.

Sasuke rushed up to her and held her tightly, trying to get her to look at him by turning her towards him but she just turned her head mutely to the mirror.

"Hinata, what's wr-"

Sasuke looked over Hinata's shoulder to see what she could be finding so scary in the mirror and found his answer. Immediate shock took over him and he clamped his eyes shut to block it out.

Where was his reflection?

He felt someone move behind him and felt the hands pull him away and out of the room. "It's alright," his mother's voice said.

Sasuke opened his eyes, looking at the girl in his arms. Her face was vacant, but she soon returned to self-awareness.

"Sasuke?" she said, and then she collected herself even more. "Sasuke!"

She hugged him tightly, making his thirst itch but he ignored it for the moment.

"I got up just now but Sai left to go to the bathroom so I got up too," Hinata started to ramble. "But when I passed the mirror, I realized something was wrong and I was deathly afraid to look but I couldn't help it. I don't have a reflection Sasuke, neither do you. We don't exist!"

"Of course you do, dear," said Mikoto. "Human mirrors just don't recognize vampires. Gomen, I should have taken it down; it's the only mirror made by humans here."

"So we still can see ourselves, right?" asked Sasuke.

"Hai."

But Sasuke still was afraid of not seeing a reflection. Not seeing it meant you were not alive, you were dead, a ghost or worst- undead.

"It will be over soon," Mikoto told them. "It's natural that you'll have your little doubts and stuff, but it will only last for a little while. By tonight you will be fine."

Sasuke and Hinata nodded and Mikoto led them to the kitchen and took a Ziploc from the cooler next to the fridge and poured them both a glass of blood.

Hinata accepted hers with thanks and so did Sasuke as Sai walked in and sat as well as Mikoto poured him some as well.

They were all in silence and Sasuke couldn't help but watch his mother as she sipped at her tea and ate some eggs. What surprised him was that he was no longer craving the human food but it actually made him feel sick. He looked across at Hinata and saw that her face was the same as well as Sai when Itachi and his father came in.

"Mikoto," said Fugaku. "The food is upsetting them."

His mother took one look at their faces and said an apology as she took up her plate and mug to go out of the room with a smile.

"It is fine for you to feel a little nauseous at the smell and sight of food for now," said Fugaku. "Your bodies are still trying to adjust and are not stable right now so even the thought of human food may make you feel sick."

"It is just the same as when you first had to drink blood and you threw up, Sasuke," Itachi chimed in.

"There's no need to bring that up," Sasuke mumbled.

"It happens," said Fugaku. "There's no need to be ashamed."

The rest of the lunch was finished with simple talk and Mikoto came back in to talk as well. Kin and Karin joined them soon afterwards and they all had a great time until it was time to get ready to leave since school was the next day.

Sasuke was actually surprised that Sai, Hinata or himself was sick- especially Hinata- as he thought, but who was he too complain? He was just happy that he was going back home and could start helping Hinata find her clan.

After they had eaten, they all dispersed to go their own way in preparation to leave, going to the bathrooms or going to pack and Sasuke went to his room to have a bath where he found Hinata packing up.

Thank goodness he had just had blood or Sasuke would have probably bitten her right there. She looked so edible looking up at him from the floor as she put away her things that it was hard not to pounce on her. Hinata laughed, standing up to walk closer to him and pull him in the room and shut the door.

"You really need to control yourself, Sasuke," she said. "I could practically see your eyes turning and you just had blood."

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her. "Who said that was the blood I wanted?" Sasuke asked her with a smirk. She smiled back and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey, you missed," said Sasuke and held her closer to bring her in for a proper kiss… that was interrupted by the door being opened.

"Sasuke? Oh! Hinata's with you?"

Sasuke and Hinata broke apart about a mile away from each other when they heard his mother, who looked more embarrassed than they were.

"Hai?" Sasuke answered.

"Ano… oh yes! I was going to ask you if you wanted anything before you leave. Money to buy something?"

"I think I'm fine," said Sasuke. "Although my backpack's getting a little shabby."

Mikoto nodded. "Alright. I'll let your father know."

She turned away to leave and was just outside the door when Sasuke took a large step towards Hinata who was blushing furiously and caught her up in his arms again.

"S-ssasuke," she stammered. "Your mother just caught us. Maybe we should hurry and pack before someone else walks in."

He could feel Hinata's heart and pulse beating fast and it excited him greatly. Just a little bite won't hurt. He leaned in to kiss Hinata and then moved his lips down to her neck, making the girl shudder under his touches and inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. Hinata turned her head to the side to give him access and he thanked her by licking the area he was about to sink his teeth into, gathering a gasp from the girl.

He didn't know if it was the promise he had made to her before he turned or the fact that he was now a vampire and everything was now heightened, but Sasuke felt an incredible increase in his desire and he needed to sate it right now.

Or he could always wait; since his father decided to throw open his door.

Sasuke almost groaned when he was interrupted by the man telling him to stop fooling around that they needed to get back home before it got too late. Hinata was just about as red as a cherry and he couldn't help but think that she was too cute.

* * *

Hinata and Sasuke were in the back seat while Itachi drove them back home. Sai was driving the car just ahead of them. The sun had yet to go down but it was peeking from behind the trees so she had no problem with it and neither did Sasuke. How were they going to go through the day tomorrow if they were still afraid of the sun? Itachi had explained it would be gone by morning though so she was not so worried.

What did worry her was they fact that human mirrors could no longer show her reflection. What if someone found out because of it what she was? Well, Itachi had not been caught yet so maybe it was as dangerous as she thought. He said that they could still see their reflections in somewhere natural like in the water so Hinata did not feel too bad.

She could not wait until she got home and could sleep. Sure, she had slept for a good part of the day but she had school in the morning and she wanted to be alert. Also she wanted to see Hanabi and Neji. Neji had been so worried about her that she felt guilty for lying to him about Hanabi going to that party with Naruto's cousin. She just hoped the party was not wild or anything, knowing how the younger children were always experimenting with drugs and whatever else came to their minds.

Hinata slapped her forehead as she remembered something else, gaining both Sasuke's and Itachi's attention.

"What's wrong?" asked Sasuke. "Did you forget something?"

"Not back at your parents' house," said Hinata. "I just forgot that Ino had asked me to come over with her for a sleepover in the weekend coming."

"So what are you on about if it's not here yet?" asked Itachi.

"It's soon the end of the term and we'll soon have exams."

"So?"

"I have not exactly been on top of my work since I turned," said Hinata.

"Don't worry, you will catch up," Itachi told her.

He was right. No matter what Hinata always managed to scrape a pass, not counting Math, so she would be okay.

It was late in the night when Hinata was dropped off and said bye to Itachi and then Sasuke helped her take out her bags and carried them to the front door with her. Hinata rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door. While they waited, Hinata looked down at her feet.

"Are you going to school tomorrow, Hinata?" asked Sasuke.

"I think so," Hinata told him. "We didn't have homework, right?"

"Not sure. But I don't think so."

I'll just ask Neji," said Hinata, and she noticed the immediate change in Sasuke. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Sasuke told her.

They turned to the door when they heard footsteps and then the door was opened by a maid. She looked at Hinata with wide eyes and at Sasuke as well as though she had just found out something but she quickly hid it and welcomed Hinata and greeted Sasuke.

Hinata smiled at her and Sasuke nodded and then she walked away when Hinata told her she needed no help with getting her things to her room so she and Sasuke could have a moment alone.

"I'll see you at school," said Hinata and held onto Sasuke's hand, leaning forward to kiss him lightly.

"See you later," said Sasuke. Hinata could tell he was still having trouble with his senses and being so close to Hinata and felt like grinning at him.

He gave her hand a squeeze and then turned away, waving as he left. Hinata watched as Itachi drove away with a short beep of his horn as his goodbye and then lugged her things into the house.

"If you needed help with those you could have asked, Hyuuga-san."

Hinata looked up to see the same maid looking down at her bent form.

"I don't want to disturb you," said Hinata.

"It is fine," the maid insisted and took hold of one of the bags that Hinata thought had grown since she left the Uchiha house. They had given her quite a few packets of blood to take home and a cooler for her own when she was not at Sasuke's house. She just hoped the woman would not ask about what was in her bags or question the sloshing sounds either- not that it was her business anyway. Although she did seem a little faint, her flashing eyes hidden behind her bangs.

"What's your name?" asked Hinata, thoroughly flustered at the fact that she did not know the woman's name.

"Nikato," the maid said as they carried the things up the stairs.

"Nikato?" Hinata repeated and the owner of said name nodded in confirmation. Hinata ran the name through her head over and over again, knowing she had heard the name before from somewhere else but then she dismissed it, thinking that she must have heard someone else in the house use the name ad she had heard without remembering it then.

When they got to the door, Nikato bowed and then left; a smile on her face that greatly confused Hinata. Shrugging, Hinata went inside and shut the door before she took the packets of blood out and then put them in the cooler, shoving the full container under her bed. She would have to remember to tell the maids not to go under her bed until she found a new hiding spot for the cooler.

"What are you doing?"

Hinata looked up at her cousin staring sown at her with a raised eyebrow and smiled.

"Hiding my stash," she told him.

"You're what?" asked Neji as he came closer and sat on his knees next to her. He put a hand on her butt, applying pressure to lower it, making Hinata blush at the contact as she sat on her feet when she had pushed the cooler far enough.

"I was hiding my stash of blood," she said.

"Why?" asked Neji. "You don't need my blood anymore?"

Hinata felt guilty for some reason and shook her head. "It's not that. I do need your blood. In fact, I prefer your blood to this any day. But if you're not near me and I need it I'll have it," Hinata explained.

She wrapped her arm around his neck, biting her tongue to stop the thirst. "Plus, you know how much I like your blood, Neji."

Neji thought for a moment. "Hinata?"

"Hai?"

"Did you have your period this month?"

* * *

_**I hope this chapter was alright. I know you'll probably come to a conclusion with this ending though, and I can't wait to read your thoughts. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get **_**A Happy Ending** _**to you this weekend but I'll try, I really will.**_

_**Sorry to my Beta.**_

_**If you have not read **_**Hina hime** _**or **_**A Happy Ending** _**please do.**_

_**Until next update…**_

**_Merii Kurisumasu__!_**

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_


	26. Awaiting the Results

_**Hi readers! Boy did this week fly and now was Monday and I was like "Where did the weekend go?" I hope you all had a good week and weekend and are looking forward to the new chapter. I'm so sorry about updating late, but, the new chapters from others distracted me. To make up for it though, instead of 2,500 words, I'll give you around 4,000.**_

_**I apologize to my Beta**_

_**Excuse any errors and R&R!!!**_

**Chapter 26: Awaiting the Results**

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Hinata stared at Neji blankly but her mind was reeling. Come to think of it, during all the fuss and excitement, Hinata did not have her period.

"Maybe it's just late," said Hinata. There was a very slim chance that she was… that she…

"I'm sure you're right," said Neji. "It should come within the week."

Hinata tried to look as though she was not worried but, inside she was panicking to the point where she was sure she would faint but she shook it from her mind, focusing on Neji.

"So, what happened while I was gone?" she asked him.

"Nothing much," Neji said. "We had no homework this weekend so it was pretty much without stress, except for the fact that I was worrying about you and Hanabi's been going to the bathroom a lot."

Hinata smiled at the boy and hugged him, biting back her thirst once more. It seemed to had intensified since she turned and she would have to learn how to control it better. So much for laughing at Sasuke.

"I'm fine, Neji," she told him. "Are you sleeping with me tonight? Or am I sleeping with you?"

"I think I'll sleep with you since it's good to have you back and you should sleep in your bed," Neji said.

"Hai."

Hinata went to her drawer and took out her clothes she would sleep in and put them on the bed for when she would come out from the bathroom and went to have a bath as Neji waited since he said he had one just before she came home. She didn't take long because she seemed a little tired, her body humming, and only had a short shower. Then she brushed her teeth and, wrapping he towel around her, went back to her room to dress. Neji looked away as she dressed and then she went to take up a brush to put up her hair since she realized she was not taking very good care of it for the past week and tied it up.

Neji was sitting on the bed backing her and Hinata got into the bed and started to brush his hair for him, braiding it as she had done hers and then they got under the covers, ready for bed. They stayed up for about twenty more minutes but sleep started to call her name and Hinata found she couldn't fight it any longer.

"Oroyasuma, Neji," Hinata said, cuddling up to him with ease since she made sure to bite her wrist when she was in the shower. She kissed him on his lips as she was accustomed and laughed when he wiped it off, telling her she was smooching on Sasuke.

"But I just bathed," she told him with a pout and Neji sighed.

"Fine."

Hinata grinned and held Neji's head and kissed him full on the lips perhaps longer than she should have but neither looked into it. She figured everything was going sluggish from being so sleepy.

"You know," started Hinata, but Neji finished for her.

"We shouldn't be doing that?" he said and Hinata nodded. "What are you going to do about it then?"

"Nothing. We've been doing it for years," said Hinata.

"Even though we're older now and the meaning could be completely different?" asked Neji.

"Hmm," Hinata answered sleepily. "So what? We're cousins."

She felt Neji shift.

"Cousins don't do this…"

Neji leaned over Hinata and kissed her again, this time it was past innocent and Hinata kissed him back, both lazily deepening the kiss and then parting. Hinata didn't even realize when she had put her arms around his neck or when he had held her waist, their hips connected. They stared at each other panting shakily as sleep overtook them and Neji slid onto his side, his arm not leaving her waist and Hinata's hand splayed on his chest.

"We're just different," Hinata drawled and snuggled up even more to the source of warmth.

"Very much so," Neji agreed.

Hinata couldn't even think anymore and soon she was off to sleep. She heard Neji mumble something but she was too far gone to hear what he had said.

x

"Wow."

Hinata sat up quickly at the voice, but was not able to sit up properly because Neji's limbs and hers were almost knotted. She looked at Hanabi to see she had an eyebrow raised. The younger girl never really knew how close she and Neji were and they had never meant for her to know either.

"It's okay," she told her sister. "It was kinda cold last night."

Hanabi seemed to buy it for she was rubbing her arms and sniffing. "I suppose so," she said. "I didn't know you came back home and couldn't really sleep."

Hinata smiled at the fact that the girl had admitted such a thing. She shook Neji awake. "I guess we could always get ready for school early then."

They all bathed, dressed and ate and soon Neji was driving them to school.

Last night was still implanted in Hinata's mind. Both of what she and Neji had done and the fact that there was a possibility because she and Sasuke had made a simple, silly mistake. What would she do if she was pregnant? How would she be able to tell Sasuke? Obviously she had to but would he want to keep it? She certainly did not.

Hinata dragged her thoughts with her out of the car, up the steps and corridors to her locker and then to the classroom, not really taking notice of her surroundings as she went over many things in her mind.

Was she a bad person for not wanting to keep the child if she was pregnant? Surely not, because she was barely able to take of herself. How was she going to able to care for a baby? No, she was going to definitely get rid of it if it was there.

But how could she find out without anyone knowing? It was such a small world that if she went to get a test, she knew for a fact that someone would know her and ask questions then somehow it would get back to her father and then all hell would be opened. Sure, he was not as terrible as he was before, but that did not mean he would want to know that his sixteen- soon to be seventeen- year old daughter was questioning if she was pregnant.

Hinata sat at her desk, staring at a spot on the table as though most interested when she felt a tap on the shoulder. Looking up she saw that it was Sasuke. She was so out of it she hadn't even realized that her thirst had acted up and quickly chewed on her tongue. Sasuke looked at her with a raised brow.

"What's wrong?" he asked her and Hinata shook her head.

"Nothing," she said. She knew she should probably tell him but she had no idea how to start. "Actually… I have something to tell you and I don't know how you're going to take it."

Hinata could tell that Sasuke probably immediately assumed the worst.

"Iie! It's nothing terrible. At least I don't think," Hinata was confusing herself and started to ramble. "It's a yes or no situation, I suppose. But I guess it could put a lot of strain on us."

Sasuke crouched and held her shoulders, looking at her scrutinizing.

"Hey, just tell me," he said.

"I can't say it here, people might hear," Hinata replied.

"Fine, tell me at lunch." Sasuke looked away briefly. "Does it have to do with our relationship? Or did something happen?"

Hinata shook her head. "Hopefully it won't change the way we are now but it's something I realized." She really didn't want him to think it was that bad so she smiled. "Don't worry about it until I tell you."

"Hai."

Just then, the bell rang and Sasuke gave her shoulder a little squeeze. When he left Hinata let out a breath she had not even known she had been holding but it was sucked back up again when Ino hugged her from behind, making her have to bit her tongue again.

"What did Sasuke want?" Ino whispered in her ear.

"What's it to you, piggy? He certainly wasn't asking about you," Sakura's voice cut in from behind and then she came around the table to face them.

"Shove it, fivehead, no one was speaking to you," Ino spat. Hinata really did miss this.

"It's not my fault you're desperate for Sasuke," said Sakura.

"No I'm not, I'm over that. And if you would mind your business every once in a while it would do some good," Ino fired back. "You should not tell someone about being desperate when you're sneaking around with Ka-"

"Ino, Sakura, that's enough," came the voice of Kakashi-sensei. Said girls huffed and went to their respective seats, glaring at each other. Kakashi cleared his throat and pulled on his collar. "Now, let's see if everyone's here."

-----------------

The classes could not have passed any slower for Sasuke. He was itching to know what Hinata wanted to tell him that had made her look so confused. What could she possibly want to tell him?

Sasuke daydreamed as he watched the class clock tick away the last five minutes and it seemed like lunch was light years from coming. He barely heard what Asuma was saying and he was sure that he had all the work mostly right anyway.

It was like heaven's trumpet was calling when he heard the bell ring and Sasuke didn't spare anyone a glance as his eyes only saw his girlfriend who was fidgeting as she collected her scattered papers and rushed outside.

Sasuke gathered up his things and briskly walked outside among the students and went to his locker to find that Hinata had already gone. What was she doing? It was then that he saw her hair sweep through the bathroom door in haste. Sasuke did a quick sweep of the corridors and saw that everyone was busy and walked coolly past the girls' bathroom door to slide through the still opened door.

"Hinata," he called and received a little noise from the last cubicle. He went to it and knocked. "I'm not supposed to be in here, you know."

"Gomen."

Hinata came out of the bathroom and Sasuke was glad that she had not been crying because he would know for sure that something was definitely wrong.

"Well it makes no sense hiding this so let's go up to the roof and talk," said Hinata, grabbing his arm to pull him outside. Luck was on his side because no one had noticed them come out.

"So tell me what's going on," said Sasuke.

Hinata took a deep breath. "Hai. Neji brought this to my attention…"

Great. Her cousin was involved.

"When I came back from your parents' house and I got back we were talking for awhile about the blood I brought home and then he asked me if I had my period," said Hinata. She paused. "I haven't had my period, Sasuke."

"Does your period always come in the exact length of days every time," asked Sasuke. As much as he was acting cool, his insides were in turmoil. What did she mean? Was she what he thought she was saying?

"Iie, so there's a possibility that I'm not… that," Hinata replied. She started to play with her fingers as was a habit she used to have when she was nervous so he knew this was hard for her. He'd just have to be strong for her. He went closer to her after he bit his tongue, hugging her close.

"If you're pregnant, what do you want to do?" he asked. "I know you said that you don't want a child but whatever you choose to do, I'll support you."

Hinata hugged him tightly and sighed. "If I'm pregnant, I don't want to keep it."

It?

Sasuke nodded against her neck, and felt her lick his neck. Had she not bitten her tongue while they hugged? He could feel the short nips she gave him and shivered. Now was not the time for this. She had to have a level head. Even though his desire was raging, they had to talk about this before lunch was over. He held her at arms length and bit his tongue to then kiss her, giving her what she needed. Hinata sucked at his mouth hungrily, stress and hunger driving her on until Sasuke bit her lip in return to sate his own thirst. He then pulled away and looked at her, seeing that her eyes were slowly returning to their normal hue as he was sure his own was as well. Hinata shook her head slightly.

"We'll go see if you're pregnant, ok?" said Sasuke. "Even the chances of that are very slim. I would hate to think you're pregnant and we hardly did anything."

Hinata blushed, clearly remembering what had brought this on but then she frowned. "I can't go to the doctor," she said softly. "I can't even go to a small clinic or a store to get a pregnancy test because someone might see me and then it'll get back to my father."

Sasuke could understand what she was talking about because Konoha was too small for his tastes. Everyone knew everything about each other- at least not about them yet. He thought for a moment. "I'd ask Karin if she could pick up three or so for you but I don't know about that, plus I know you might not trust her with something like that even though you've forgiven her."

"I'll just ask Ino," said Hinata. "It's time I told my best friend we're going out anyway."

"She's not going to be upset?" Sasuke asked.

"Iie, she was actually asking about you before Sakura cut in," said Hinata. "I don't think she's after you anymore, but I can't be sure since we haven't talked in a while."

"Ok. Ask her to get them then." Sasuke leaned forward again to lick the blood from Hinata's lip and felt her shiver. "I want you to be there for you, Hinata."

"I know," said Hinata. "We'll be here for each other." Hinata took off her bag and reached into it to take out two bottles of blood. "I know it's risky bringing these to school…"

"Yes, it was," said Sasuke, reaching for one of the bottles. It was not his fault he couldn't help it. They both drank the blood, not minding that it was not as warm as they would have liked. "You know," said Sasuke. "Since we were together, we haven't had a tutoring lesson after school."

Hinata gasped playfully. "You're right. This new topic has been giving me some trouble. I was going to ask Neji but now it's even better."

Sasuke didn't know why every time he heard Neji's name or saw him he felt so possessive. Maybe it was just his instincts but he knew he had to put claim to Hinata before anything happened. He leaned over the rail and Hinata did the same, but then she dragged back his collar.

"What that?" she asked, tracing something on his shoulder He couldn't see what she was talking about so she gave him a mirror. It was a strange marking, looking like three tomoes. Was this the mark Itachi was talking about? The mark that allowed other vampires to recognize him?

"I didn't even realize it was there?" said Sasuke. He looked at Hinata. "Where's yours?"

Hinata examined her arms and legs, then back at him. "I don't know."

A smirk came to Sasuke's face. "How about the next chance we get, I find it for you?"

The familiar blush bloomed on Hinata's cheeks as she looked away. "Maybe I will…"

The bell rang, ending lunch and Sasuke and Hinata made it back to their class room. Sasuke was glad that he and Hinata had been able to work out what they would do about the baby if she was pregnant and was already making plans for the vacation which was coming in the next week. Christmas, Hinata's birthday was coming soon as well and he had to get her something. He was not sure what, but he knew that he would have to think about what she would like the most, then there was new year's.

As he sat at his desk, he saw that Hinata was talking to Ino but so far the blonde girl was not crying or squealing so that was a good sign, whatever they were talking about.

Classes went by much faster than Sasuke had expected and soon it was time to go home. He never thought he would be so happy to be home after Naruto had somehow convinced him to let him drive and did he drive. He went all around the town terrorizing not only Sasuke, but many pedestrians, fellow drivers, and the occasional domestic animal. Sasuke was sure that five years was taken away from him when the blond finally got home, but not without nearly running down the mailbox and mowing the garbage can. He didn't know why he trusted the idiot he called a best friend with his life.

Since he came back, Naruto was making a real effort to mend things back to how they were before and Sasuke was glad that he was. He hated to admit it, but he was enjoying it. The midnight talks for the past two days really let Sasuke know a lot about Naruto that he had been missing out on when they had stopped talking and he told Naruto about himself as well.

Sasuke went online first thing to see if Hinata was on and said hello.

**Flames_13: hey**

He waited for awhile and then her message popped up.

**Candyapple_7: hi Sasuke.**

**Flames_13: how did your talk with Ino go?**

**Candyapple_7: I was so afraid and nervous that I didn't ask her. She was just telling the latest gossip and planning our sleepover. In fact, I'm talking 2 her right now.**

Sasuke looked through his contacts and saw that Ino was indeed online. He did notice she was not after him anymore. That was the only reason he kept her on his list.

**Flames_13: Gd 4 u**

**Candyapple_7: one day wen I tell Ino about us, I'd like if you two got along**

**Flames_13: like hell that wud hpn. **

**Candyapple_7: she's gotten over you so I don't see the big deal**

**Flames_13: she is one of the most annoying ppl I've ever met**

**Candyapple_7: wat if I told u I'm going 2 tell Ino wat I am on the sleepover?**

**Flames_13: …**

Was Hinata serious? Ino had to have the biggest mouth next to Sakura's that he'd ever seen and Hinata was planning on telling her their secret. A secret that if in the wrong hands could cause a lot of problems?

**Candyapple_7: I kno Ino may not be the best person 2 tell a secret 2, but she is my best friend**

**Flames_13: so wat? **

**Candyapple_7: Naruto knows wat u r**

**Flames_13: he's Karin's bf. I didn't tell him anything, she did**

**Candyapple_7: oh yea ok I won't tell her. It's just that we haven't been as close as we were b4 that's all.**

**Flames_13: hn**

**Candyapple_7: so when do my tutoring lessons start?**

**Flames_13: 2morrow shud b fine**

**Candyapple_7: ok, hey I've gtg k? Neji went out and now he's back and he said he brought home s/thing 4 me**

What did that have to do with her being online?

**Flames_13: will u b back?**

**Candyapple_7: I'm not sure. He said it's important**

**Flames_13: ok I'm going off now so I'll c u 2morrow k?**

**Candyapple_7: ok I'll c u l8r Sasuke **

**Flames_13: bye**

**Candyapple_7: SIGNED OUT**

**Flames_13: SIGNED OUT**

Sasuke shut his laptop and sighed. Today was such a stressful day and it was not even seven o'clock yet. He had a bath and then took his wrist since he was not in the mood to go downstairs to get blood. He lay on the bed fro what seemed to be endless hours thinking about all that had happened for the day.

Hinata not being sure if she was pregnant or not was the biggest event for the day. How could she not know if she was pregnant? He was sure that she would be sick or something but maybe it was too early for that. Maybe the awakening had something to do with it but he could not be sure and he felt a little too lazy to get up and ask Itachi or even Sai.

He looked at his wrist that he had bitten and saw that the wound was healed up and gone. It would take some time to get used to but it was all worth it in the end.

------------

"What is it, Neji?" asked Hinata when she signed off from the computer. Turning to her cousin, she saw he had a small brown paper bag in his hand. She eyed it warily. "What's that?"

"I think you know what's in the bag," said Neji. He came up to her and kneeled in front of her. "It's best you know in the early."

Hinata's heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute when Neji held out his hand with the bag for her to take it. With trembling fingers she grasped the bag, choking back the tightness in her chest as she hugged Neji when she bit her tongue.

"Arigato, Neji," Hinata whispered.

"Go ahead. I'll leave you alone until you're ready," said Neji and he got up and left, looking back when he got to the door with a comforting smile before he left.

Hinata grasped the bag tightly, snatched her phone off the computer desk, and went to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door as if she were locking the secret with her in there. She opened the bag and took the test out of the boxes and took a deep breath as she sat on the toilet, steeling herself for the outcome as she read the instructions.

She had no idea about the things before now and was sure to read the directions as carefully as possible although it was quite simple to understand. Neji bought four so that she could be sure and by the time she was done, Hinata felt like she had run a mile and she would collapse.

Hinata flushed the toilet and closed her eyes as she waited the agonizing minutes to see what the results were. Hinata opened her eyes to look at the tests she had lined up n the floor in front her and gasped, tears filling her eyes. She couldn't even think straight as she dialed the number and counted three rings before the person picked up.

"_Moshi moshi?"_

Hinata choked on a sob, not even able to say anything.

"_Who's there?"_

Hinata sniffed and managed to get out a word. "Sasuke?"

"_Hinata? Is that you?"_

"Hai," she replied, wiping away the tears from her face. She couldn't help but cry and she could hear Sasuke was starting to panic in his voice.

"_Hinata, what's wrong? Did something happen? Talk to me."_

Hinata took in a shuddering breath, trying in vain to calm herself. She didn't want Sasuke to panic like that but she could not help but cry in this situation.

"Sasuke, Neji brought home some p-pregnancy test for m-me," she started. She could hear nothing but silence on the other side and dragged up another breath to speak again. "I took the tests just n-now and… and I got the results."

----------------

_**Here we are readers! Another chapter finished. I actually, like Hinata, had no clue about the pregnancy tests and had to get my boyfriend to look up some information since I didn't want to do it and then my mum or dad walked in and saw what I was doing. Trust me, they'd kill me if they found me looking up pregnancy test and all that. I hope you liked the chapter as much as I liked writing it. I would honestly have written more but I have stuff to do before I go to bed.**_

_**If you have not read A Happy Ending (will be updated this weekend) or Hina hime, please do.**_

_**Until next update…**_

_**Ja ne!**_


	27. Relief

_**Hey readers! Time for another chapter. I actually have no clue what I'm about to write so bear with me. **_

_**Oh yeah, to Zachary Andrews: I'm glad you like my fic but the reason why I update this way is because I'm going to school and, having three fics to update, I update in rotation. I figure this way, readers will be able to read one of my fics every week instead of waiting until I update them all at a later date. I prefer it this way because I can get all my fics updated instead of focusing on just one and I know I have a deadline to keep for you readers. I update every weekend, the latest being Monday or Tuesday. I hope you understand.**_

_**Excuse any errors and R&R!!!**_

_**

* * *

  
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**Chapter 27: Relief  
**

**----------**

"_What is it?"_ Sasuke asked. Hinata swore she could hear his heartbeat through the phone as she wiped her eyes.

"I got the results," she repeated. "A-and… I'm not pregnant."

She heard Sasuke breathe and could tell that he most likely had been holding his breath. She sobbed into the phone, so happy that she did not have to go the stress of having to worry about a child. She could not believe it when she saw the tests read three negative and one positive. It was the most amazing feeling she had to know that she was not pregnant.

"_Hinata, are you still there?"_ she heard Sasuke ask from the other end. She knew he knew she was still there since she was crying rather loudly, but he just wanted a response from her.

"H-hai, I'm still here," she replied, sniffing. She tried to stop the tears but they won't stop so she let them fall freely, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"_Are you ok?"_ he asked her. "_Do you want me to come over?"_

"Iie, it's fine," said Hinata. She would just sleep with Neji as usual. "Are you glad I'm not pregnant?"

"_Hai, I am,"_ he said. "_We still don't know the complications that would happen if you were to have an abortion. You're only supposed to have one child."_

He was right. Hinata had not even thought about that. What would have happened if she had gotten rid of the child? Would she have been able to become pregnant again without dying like her mother had done? She wanted to have Sasuke's child but she was glad it was not right now.

"_Are you sure you'll be ok, tonight?"_ Sasuke asked her and she nodded. "_It's not like I can see if you nod, you know,"_ Sasuke said, knowing what she had done, with a slight chuckle.

"Gomen, Hai I'll be fine," Hinata said, with a few more choked sobs. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, k?"

"…_Hai,"_ said Sasuke, and there was a pause where none of them said anything or hung up. "_Hinata?"_

"Hai?"

"_I love you."_

Hinata paused. This was the second time Sasuke told her he loved her and she did not know how to reply. She knew she loved him but she could not bring herself to say it. The last time she said she loved someone, it had been a disaster. Her mother told her she loved her and died. Her father told her he loved her and he treated both she and Neji badly and Naruto said he loved her and cheated on her.

"I lo-"

There was a knock on the door just then.

"Hinata? Are you alright?" asked Neji from the other side of the door. "I heard you crying."

"Sasuke I have to go," said Hinata.

"_Ok, I'll talk to you tomorrow then,"_ said Sasuke. "_Bye, Hinata."_

"Bye, Sasuke."

Hinata ended the call and looked in the direction of the door when Neji knocked again. "Hinata, open up."

Hinata wiped the tears away and reached up to open the door, not getting up from the floor, and waited for Neji to open the door himself. She saw he look over to the tests and exhaled, relief on his face as he bent down, gave her her wrist and picked her up.

Hinata clung to him as he set her on her feet. He stripped her down to her underwear and turned on the bath, plugging the tub to let it fill up and put her in the warm water, where she took of her underwear in the water.

When she was done, he took her out and then wrapped her in a towel, carrying her to her room to put on some clothes. After she did that he took off his clothes to his boxers and settled in the bed with her.

They were silent for awhile before Neji spoke first.

"I'm guessing you're not pregnant, right?" he whispered.

"Iie, I'm not pregnant," Hinata whispered back. She knew he was trying to make it better by not speaking of it so freely. She hugged him. "Arigato, Neji, for bringing the tests for me. It would have been eating me up inside if I didn't know."

"I know that," said Neji. "That's why I made sure to get them for you. There's nothing more important to me than you and Hanabi."

Hinata smiled at him but then she got serious. "I talked to Sasuke about this today and then I called him as soon as I get the results."

"What did he say?" asked Neji.

"When I talked to him earlier today at school he said that he would be behind me no matter the outcome," said Hinata. "We both agreed that if I was pregnant, we would not keep it. We are not ready for something like that, plus it would have caused too many problems since we don't know what would happen if I had had an abortion and get pregnant at a later date."

"Hai, it is very good that you don't have to go through that," said Neji.

Suddenly, Hinata's thirst itched fiercely and her stomach started to hurt. What were the chances of her getting her period now? She moaned both at the pain and the thirst and Neji held her close, giving her his wrist as she felt her eyes glaze over.

She took it hungrily, the emotions she had been feeling making her hungry for the blood that was so freely given to her. Familiar blood, fresh from the veins just for her. After she fixed up herself, she continued to drain Neji for the rest of the night, taking her own blood between.

x

Hinata woke up with the dawn as usual but something was wrong. Her eyesight was somehow failing her, but she could not be sure. She looked at Neji and nearly screamed for she could see all of his veins, pulsing through him albeit a little faintly because she had taken blood from him the night before since her period appeared.

She closed her eyes tightly, but when she reopened her eyes, nothing had changed. Panicked, she shook Neji awake, only to hear a faint groan of disapproval of her waking him up when he was so tired after being drained.

"Neji," Hinata said softly. "Something is wrong with me."

Neji didn't need to hear anymore for he opened his eyes and looked around at her and she saw his eyes widen.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You're eyes," said Neji. "And around them…"

Hinata touched her fingers to her face and found that around her eyes felt strange. She jumped up from the bed and rushed to the mirror to see what was happening and gasped at what she saw.

Her eyes were that almost colorless hue again, but around them were veins, harsh veins pulsing around her eyes and what was more was that she could see perfectly fine in the mirror.

She had not dared to look in it since her return home but now she knew that it was made from vampires. She touched them, running her fingers over the strange markings on her face and then it clicked. This was her mark.

But why was it like this? Why was it so different from Sasuke and Itachi's which were normal-looking?

Neji went out of the bedroom and came back with a book as he walked up to her still staring in the mirror.

"This is your mark as a vampire," he said. "It says here that pure-bloods have different markings from mixed clans because they are able to recognize each other better because there are no humans to mix them up with since they hate them. These veins around your eyes are for when your thirst acts up severely and activates on its own from your body wanting to find blood. The blood that rushes to your eyes helps you to see the veins better for a better meal."

"Oh," said Hinata. "How do I release it?" she asked.

"It says here in the book that you just do it on your own, it's supposed to be common knowledge," said Neji.

Hinata frowned but tried to think of a way to get rid of the mark. Then the idea came to her. She focused the same way Itachi had shown her when she wanted to summon her bees. When she opened her eyes, the mark was gone. She would have to practice that.

It was things like this that made Hinata sad. The fact that if she knew someone from her clan she would know why she was so different from other clans and would be able to know these things. Even though she was supposed to know naturally, she knew that if she were with the Hitomi clan, it would come to her more easily as to how to handle everything that was going on.

After getting ready for school, Hinata left Neji in bed since he was still tired from the loss of blood and went downstairs to see Hanabi already there, sniffling.

"You've caught a cold?" asked Hinata, noticing the younger girl's glassy eyes. She also noted the girl had loss a little weight.

"Hai," said Hanabi. "Must be all the cold nights we've been having."

Hanabi said she would catch the bus since Neji was staying home and so Hinata was left to figure out how she would get to school since she did not really like to catch the bus, although she would have to since she was going to stay late after school with Sasuke. That was another thing she would have to do… learn how to drive.

Before she could think more on it, the house phone rang and since the maids were not in yet, Hinata went to answer it.

"Moshi moshi?" she answered the phone.

"_Hinata, it's Sasuke."_

"Hi, Sasuke," said Hinata.

"_Neji called me and asked me to pick you up since he's drained from last night,"_ Sasuke told her. "_Are you ready?"_

"Hai," said Hinata. "I'll be outside waiting."

"_I'm already outside,"_ Sasuke said.

Hinata grabbed her bag and left the house, seeing Sasuke was indeed waiting for her in his car in the driveway. "Hi," she said to him when she got in. "Where's Itachi?"

"He drove with Sai and the others this morning so we could talk a little before we got to school," said Sasuke. "Neji told me you have your period?"

"Hai," Hinata confirmed as Sasuke pulled out of the driveway and onto the main road. "It feels so strange to be able to go to school with it since I've been so sick with it since last summer. Last night was the only time I felt really sick and needed lots of blood."

"I guess being a fully awakened vampire has its benefits then," said Sasuke. He was quiet for awhile. "Hinata. About last night…"

"Iie," Hinata cut in. "I'm sorry about last night," she said, knowing what he was probably going to ask her about. "Demo… I can't say it back right now, k? It's not that I don't feel the same way but I've been hurt too many times because of that word."

Sasuke nodded in understanding. "I get what you're saying. We got together shortly after you were with Naruto so I understand. I'll wait for you."

Hinata smiled and leaned across so she could kiss Sasuke on the cheek before pulling away. She looked down at her belly and placed her hand on it, rubbing small circles there. "Sasuke?" she said.

"Hn?"

"I do want to have your child," she said. "I know that we have not been official, but what happened, the possibility of having a baby for you, it made me realize what we have and… and I want y-you to claim me as yours just like Sai did with Kin."

She was looking down the entire time, too embarrassed to look up at Sasuke who was silent. She didn't look up until she felt his own hand over hers, rubbing her belly as well but keeping his eyes on the road and his other hand on the wheel.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," he said. "I want you so much, Hinata and I'm glad you're not pregnant now, because I want us to be ready and I want to do it the right way. I want you to have my child too. I want to claim you."

Blushing, Hinata looked out the window, not even noticing that her reflection was not there. Sasuke wanted to claim her. She knew he had to in order for them to get near to the Hitomi clan, but he _wanted_ to do it. He wanted _her_.

"Oh yeah," she said remembering something. "I found my mark."

Sasuke smirked. "That's too bad; I was hoping to help you find it."

Hinata's blush intensified. "I don't think you would have found it," she told him. "It only appears when I'm really thirsty or when I want it to."

"Where is it?" asked Sasuke.

Hinata pointed to her face smoothing the area around her eyes. "Here."

"Can I see?" Sasuke asked her, glancing at her before turning his attention to the road but then they came to a red light.

Concentrating, Hinata thought of anything that might trigger the mark and thought of biting Sasuke. As soon as she concentrated on that thought, she felt the veins around her eyes pulse and heard a tiny sound from Sasuke, meaning he could see them. She opened her eyes to see Sasuke's shocked ones.

* * *

He could see now why the pure bloods were so respected among other vampires. Hinata looked so unreal like that. He eyes intense and face set even though she may not have realized.

She looked like everything awakened and experienced vampires screamed.

Predator.

Sasuke had to bite his tongue from the aura Hinata was giving off. It was bloodlust if he ever knew it and he wondered what Hinata could have possibly thought of to be that way, but had to bite his tongue again at the idea that she might have thought of him.

The red light turned green and Sasuke drove off.

"I don't mind helping you find other _spots_ though," he said to her and smirked at her in a glance as the shock of what he had said caused her to lose the mark, making the veins recede into her skin once more.

Soon afterward, they drove into the school's car park and got out to go to the classroom. This was probably the first time in a while that Hinata got to school more than ten minutes before the bell rang.

Sasuke was surprised at how fast the day was going by though. Morning classed fly by, lunch fly by and it was now P.E. Sometimes he wished he could just be like Shikamaru and lay on the benches to sleep through the whole thing, but he didn't mind it that much.

He did have to be careful when he changed so that no one would notice his mark or brand if that made it sound any better. People would surely ask questions and he wasn't really into answering although he supposed that he could always tell them that it was just a tattoo. He was backing his locker to take off his shirt when a voice rang through the locker-rooms.

"Where's Sasuke?"

Sasuke winced as he recognized the voice of his best friend.

"I can't have a bath without him!"

_Oh Kami…_

Sasuke waited until he heard the voice get closer and tugged the blond around the corner. "What the hell, Naruto? You can't just broadcast those things like that. People will think nonsense."

It had become habit for the two boys to have their baths together. No, not in the same cubicle but separately, even at home. They just bathed the same time because they talked while doing it. About what happened the night before or day, depending on the time of day. "Come on, we don't have all day."

They both went to the showers to find that no one else was there so at least they could talk in peace. Going to the two cubicles, they both stripped at got in, turning on the showers.

"So what happened today?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

"Well," started Naruto. "While you and Hinata disappeared at lunch, Karin told me that she wants me to change."

Sasuke knew that Naruto wanted to convert since he learned about them being vampires and he felt left out because of this. He had told him that himself during one of these baths. "So you're really serious about it now?" he asked his best friend.

"Hai, I am. I really like Karin and I think I may actually love her," said Naruto. "It would be nice to have what you and Hinata have, or what Sai and Kin have. I know you think that we only fool around, but we want to take the next step."

It was amazing how much Naruto had matured. He was still the idiot, but he was a little more settled.

"Dobe," Sasuke said as they stopped the showers and got out, toweling off quickly to get to class. "If you both want it so badly just go for it."

"Ok! I will," Naruto said cheerfully.

The got ready and were walking back to class when they met up with Konohamaru coming out of the bathroom and Lee passed by the same time.

"You've been going to the bathroom quite a lot," said Lee. He really liked his duty as hall guard.

"Sorry," said Konohamaru, rubbing his neck, showing the tiny straw in his pants pocket. The boy practically picked up every habit Naruto had. The two boys, only thinking about getting to class, just said hi and walked by.

x

Sasuke really hoped everyday would go by as quickly as this day had done when the final bell for school to end rang.

He went to his locker and put away his unwanted books as well as Hinata, since they were to start back their tutor lessons. They went back to the classroom and settled down. Itachi drove home the car and when they were done, he said he would send Naruto to pick him up saying that he needed the practice.

Of course that did not go down easily and ended up with Sasuke threatening to put Naruto on the streets if he damaged the car more than usual since he would be driving alone. Not that that was a threat because he knew Naruto would haunt him until he let him back in and Karin would probably make his life hell as well.

"So," Sasuke said when Hinata sat on the other side of the teacher's desk. "Where do you want to start?"

Hinata flipped the pages of her book. "Here, this has been giving me a lot of trouble the entire day."

Sasuke didn't know the last time they had been like this. Even though he was teaching her Math, it was nice to just be alone together. He realized that Hinata just needed a little push to understand the questions and he was glad that he was the one to do it. He had not even realized he was staring at her until she started to giggle.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," said Hinata. "It's just that you looked really… cute just now just staring."

Sasuke smiled at her and brought his chair around to her, biting his tongue and smelling her blood, he knew that she had done the same. "I like staring at you."

Hinata blushed and looked at the last question she had to do. "There!" she said happily. "All done!"

She slammed the book and looked up at him. "What now?"

Sasuke had a lot of ideas running through his head of the many things they could be doing and smirked, even more so when he saw the look on Hinata's face when she realized what he must have been thinking about.

The thing about it was that she had a smirk of her own. She scooted closer to him and Sasuke felt his thirst at just the thought of her being so close to him. All thoughts to the wind, he moved closer as well, his arms surrounding her waist. He kissed her, wasting no time and bit his tongue as she bit hers, heightening their senses.

They pulled away and Sasuke saw her mark had returned. He kissed around her eyes and down her face to her neck, where he bit at the pulse there, relishing the taste. He could feel his edged teeth rake against her skin, breaking it and understood why it was so hard for Hinata not to bite him when she really wanted to.

He knew he could not bite her here and he would have to wait, just as she would have to wait to bite him. Half moon had gone with them turning but they still had full moon and it was going to be on Hinata's birthday.

Hinata's tiny noises were almost making Sasuke regret wanting to wait as he continued. The pulsing vein was so tempting he had to move away and kiss her again.

"Why does this always happen?"

Sasuke and Hinata broke apart to see Naruto at the door with his arms crossed, a grin on h is face. "You both know that's not Math."

Sasuke wanted to go over and hit Naruto on the head but just licked his lips and collected his books as Hinata did so as well. They carried Hinata home and then drove home. Sasuke was actually surprised that he had not had a phone call saying Naruto was in the hospital and the car was smashed or Naruto had hit someone; something along those lines.

"You know," said Naruto when he pulled up in their driveway, mowing the lawn and nearly running over the jogger in the process. "I think I drive better alone. You guys make me nervous."

And Sasuke didn't doubt him either. They went inside and talked for awhile. "What are you going to get Karin for Christmas?" he asked Naruto.

"I'm not sure yet," said Naruto. "I have to think of something. "Did you figure out what you're getting for Hinata?"

"Iie," said Sasuke. "We're thinking about officially becoming mates though."

"That's great," his friend told him excitedly. The boy looked at his watch. "I'm going to my room now, k?"

"Have fun," Sasuke told him, earning a small blush from the blond.

"Shut up!" Naruto said as he shut the door with Sasuke chuckling at him.

Sasuke lay back on the bed thinking about his girlfriend. He was not good at this kind of thing; getting something for someone else. It was foreign to him. What he got her something and she didn't like it? He would feel terrible if he got her a gift and saw disappointment on her face. The longer he thought about it, the more blank his mind became until her had the perfect answer when he heard Sai and Kin walk by. He knew just the things and he hoped Hinata would like it.

He turned over and went downstairs to get some blood where he saw Itachi getting some of his own. A question popped to his head.

"Itachi," he said to get his brother's attention. "What would happen if a vampire became pregnant and had an abortion? Could she have a child later?"

"Is Hinata pregnant?" Itachi asked bluntly.

"Iie," said Sasuke. "Demo… we thought she was."

"Hn. I don't know for sure," said Itachi. "Just be glad that she isn't."

They both left he kitchen and went back to their rooms. Sasuke whiled away the rest of the night online and fell asleep before he could even say goodbye to Hinata.

The day had gone by quickly, but it had been a little stressful even though everything worked out fine. They only thing he really regretted was the fact that Naruto had interrupted his time with Hinata. He would have to find a way to be with her more.

Right now, Neji was spending more time with her and even together- which he did not agree to in the slightest, but who was he too stop what they had been doing before he came along? He knew though, that his gift to Hinata would be for the both of them, not including Neji and with that, Sasuke went to sleep, not fully peacefully, but comfortable; utterly relived that it was just going to be Hinata and himself for a little while longer.

* * *

_**And that's it. Please, please, please excuse the errors. I wanted to get this done earlier so that I could read it through and take out the mistakes but luck was not on my side, though I made up for it by giving you 4,750 words or so instead of 2,500. I was going through a block- believe it or not- because I could not decide if Hinata would be pregnant or not; however, I came up with a perfect solution to that problem.**_

_**If you have not read A Happy ending or Hina hime, please do.**_

_**Until next update…**_

_**Ja**_ _**ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_


	28. First Taste

_**Hi there readers! It's time for another chapter. I'm feeling great so I hope that it transfers to the fic. As you know FF had a glitch- or that's what I saw when I tried to update and review- and so I was not able to meet my deadline for you guys so sorry about that.**_

_**By the way there's something that is bothering me. What is happening to the world of fanfiction? When I was first introduced to this site, the writers updated at least once a week and readers reviewed. Now, Even though I have over 100 favorite fics, I barely get notices of updates from most of them and readers have become lazy, not wanting to take the extra time to say a few words to the writer, who had spent a great deal of time and energy writing for them. Even last week, when I updated I must say if I got five reviews I got a lot. I try to review whenever I read someone's fic because I know what it is like to just stare at the pc waiting to know if readers liked the chapter. If you write or only read, I'm asking for other readers and writers that you take the time to update or review.**_

_**That being said, let's get on with the fic.**_

_**Excuse any errors and R&R!!!**_

_**

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**Chapter 28: First Taste**

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There was nothing like the last day of school. Even Sasuke felt the excitement ringing throughout the school- or was that Naruto's voice?

It was the last period of the day, and year, and Sasuke could not wait to get away from the place even if it was only for three weeks. He was not the only one who was of this view, for the class was humming with anticipation of the final bell to ring.

There was nothing to do since Kakashi had decided to sit at his desk and read, occasionally telling them to be quiet when they got too loud. Sasuke did not mind in the least, except for the fact that his ears were ringing from all the shouting Naruto was doing. Every time the clock ticked away a minute, the blond would shout at it-

"Come on! That's the fastest you can go?!"

-for not going fast enough.

Naruto was just itching to leave school. He was excited about going to his house to clear away his things since he lived with Sasuke now.

Last night he had said that he was not certain about moving out all his things because he was thinking about moving back there with Karin, but he was not so sure that they were entirely ready for that. He said he could always rent it again when he made up his mind but at the moment he was fine living with Sasuke and the others at the Uchihas'.

It was amazing how Naruto had matured _after_ he cheated on, and broke up with Hinata. Not that he minded because he had Hinata now, but it was good to know his best friend was growing up.

_**RING!!!**_

Sasuke was nearly knocked from his chair if he had not been holding onto his desk by the students who were in a hurry to get away as soon as possible. The school sounded as if it would collapse from the stampede of students that ran down the halls and stairs only to squeeze through the gate. Some were even jumping through windows from what he could see from his classroom.

He waited until the last person of the migration left and saw that the only people left were Ino, Hinata, Naruto, Kin, Karin, and Sai. Hinata was talking to Ino, probably about the sleep over while Neji waited outside for Hanabi to come from her class.

He walked over to Hinata and she turned around when Ino cleared her throat.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she replied.

Ino smirked and nudged Hinata's shoulder. "I'll wait for you outside until you're done," she said.

They watched her go and then Sasuke fixed his attention on his girlfriend.

"I hope you have fun," he told her.

"Hai, I will," said Hinata. "Are we still on for Monday?"

"Hai, I can't wait," said Sasuke. And in reality, he honestly couldn't wait. Hinata had asked him to teach her to drive just a few days ago and they planned to do it on Monday.

It was going to be fun teaching her, ignoring the fact that it was going to be done illegally. Naruto did it all the time before he got his license and he nearly ran over someone every time he touched the steering wheel; hopefully, hinata's hand would be more steady and her foot be not as heavy on the accelerator.

Hanabi came up to them, rubbing her nose.

"Hi," she said, and the greeting was returned. "Neji's waiting to tell you goodbye."

They all went outside where Neji was waiting and they said goodbye to each other. Ino and Hinata went together, Neji and Hanabi, Sai, Karin, and Kin, and then he and Naruto.

Sasuke made sure to drive them to Naruto's old home and when they got there, parked in the cracked parking lot. Naruto sighed as he got out of the car, taking two empty boxes and then Sasuke followed him inside with two boxes of his own.

When they got inside, Naruto and Sasuke wasted no time in packing up everything that the blond would be needing. All his books and some clothes that he had forgotten about were put into the boxes. It amazed Sasuke how his best friend could just throw everything into the boxes like that when he was trying to get them neatly packed.

"I think that's it," said Naruto. He looked around the room fondly. "I'm going to miss it here."

Even though Sasuke was not so attached to the place, he had some respect for it and the old CRT monitor that was sitting on one of the boxes. This was where he had 'met' Hinata and found out about her crush on Naruto. This was where he first realized that he had to hold on and wait for her.

"Hai," said Sasuke, not really sure how to respond.

Naruto grinned at him. "Oh well! I guess it's official now that I live with you!" he said quite loudly. He walked up to Sasuke and threw his arms around his shoulders. "Let's go home."

They put the boxes in the back of the car and this time Sasuke let Naruto drive.

"So did you figure out what you're getting Hinata," asked Naruto, narrowly missing a stray dog.

"Hai," said Sasuke. "I think she'll like it."

"So what are you getting her?" Naruto pressed- the gas a little too much, jerking the car forward.

"I can't tell you that," Sasuke told him. "You're mouth is too big."

"Aww, don't be like that," Naruto whined. "You're supposed to tell me everything."

Sasuke chuckled. "You will know when Hinata's birthday comes. It's not that far away. It's like what, the twelfth of December?"

Naruto pouted all the way home and Sasuke had to wonder if he should make Naruto like this every time for he drove for his hands and feet were as steady as a surgeon's.

They brought the things inside and Sasuke helped Naruto carry them to his room. After that, he went to see Sai. As far as he could tell, the coast was clear and he could not hear or sense Kin and Sai doing anything.

He knocked on his cousin's door and was told to enter. When he did, he saw Sai sitting on his bed with his art pad in front him as was custom.

"What can I help you with?" asked Sai.

"Where's Kin?" asked Sasuke, noticing that she was not in the room or house.

"She went to the store to pick up a few things" Sai told him.

"Oh, well I had to ask you something," Sasuke told him as he sat next to Sai. "I wanted to ask you about giving your mate a cross. You just buy it and give it to her?"

"It's not that simple," Sai told him. "You have to go to the mines to get the appropriate stone and then have them fashion it. It takes three days."

"Where are the mines?" asked Sasuke. "I'd like to get it done as soon as possible."

"On the other side of town," said Sai. "If you go tomorrow you should be able to go back for it by Tuesday or Wednesday."

Sasuke nodded. It was going to take some time and effort to get it but he was going on the right track.

"Can you give me the directions?" he asked Sai.

"Sure," said Sai and Sasuke waited until his cousin wrote up the directions to the mines.

Sasuke got up and walked out, feeling much better. Before it was just an idea that he had, but now it was going to be real. He was going to get Hinata a cross and he would make sure that it was the best one he could think of. There was something that he had forgotten though. He rushed back to Sai's room.

"I forgot to ask you," said Sasuke, peeking his head through the door. "How much will it cost?"

"Cost?" asked Sai. "If you want to call it that. Well, it's not money you have to give but blood. Blood as an offering to the mines and then blood as 'payment' to the jewelsmith of course."

"Nani?" Sasuke said quickly. "I'm not letting some random person bite me."

"Just put it in a vial or capsule," said told him. "I wouldn't think anyone who wanted a cross made let the miners and jewelsmiths bite them."

"Hn."

Sasuke left Sai's room and went to his own. He didn't think Hinata would be be online since she was on a sleepover with Ino, Naruto was with Karin and he had no idea where Itachi was so he just lay there as he was accustomed as there was thankfully, no homework because they were on vacation. Who would have thought that he had nothing to do on his first night on vacation?

Then an idea hit him. He was good at art, so he would design Hinata's cross. He didn't know exactly what he wanted it to look like but he did he did know that he wanted the best for Hinata.

Christmas was coming up and so was Hinata's birthday. What would he give her for Christmas? He knew what he wanted to give her for her birthday already. The more he thought about it, the more it came to him what he would do. He was sure that not many people had done what he was thinking about doing and that made him excited.

He got up and went for his art pad and a pencil. He sat on his bed, leaning over the art pad. He did this because he remembered something Sai had said to him when he asked the older teen why he didn't just draw at the desk where it was more comfortable.

Sai had said that was the main reason why he sat on the bed; because it _was_ uncomfortable. He used that to respect what he was doing. The paper and whatever he was using to make a mark on that paper feel proud of the effort he was making to transfer his thoughts into art.

Sasuke thought that Sai was just an art freak at the time he had told him that, but now he understood. He wanted that when he was done sketching what he wanted Hinata to wear to symbolize she was taken, he would be looking at his hard work; his effort to make that sketch fit enough to cut out and wear if he wanted.

His ideas came flashing before his eyelids and he drew as he imagined Hinata wearing his cross, his heart… a part of him.

The more he thought about it, the more he began to realize that it was not enough and the more that thought filled his head, the more he transferred to the paper until he was certain of what he wanted for Hinata. He was sure she would love his gift.

* * *

Hinata and Ino caught the bus to her home. They talked just about everything like Sakura's secret relationship with Kakashi-sensei, to the fact that Ino and Chouji broke up weeks ago and Hinata had no idea until now.

"I liked Chouji a lot because he liked me for me," said Ino, continuing their conversation. "But lately my mind has been on elsewhere."

"So how did Chouji take it?" asked Hinata.

"How did Chouji take it? He's the one who broke up with me," said Ino with a sad smile. "He said that he could tell that I had my eyes on someone else and either I go after that person or come back to him when I was ready." She gave a short laugh. "I never would have thought that it would hurt the way I did though; I cried for the entire night."

Hinata bit her tongue quickly and hugged Ino tightly. "Gomen," she told her best friend. "Gomen nasai, I should have been there for you."

"It's fine," said Ino, hanging on tighter. "I know that your anemia has gotten worse so we've not been so close lately; I understand that."

Ino's stop came and they got off, walking the short distance to Ino's house. Hinata always liked Ino's home. It had a beautiful garden out front with almost every flower that grew in Konoha and the porch had two rocking chairs that she and Ino spent many nights in, talking well into the early morning.

They walked up to the door and Ino opened the door with her key since she said her mother had gone to get some seedlings from in the town. Hinata followed her to the door… but something was wrong. She couldn't go further than the door. It was like there was a barrier blocking her way and Hinata started to silently panic.

Ino looked back at her.

"What's wrong?" the blonde asked her.

"Ano… nothing," Hinata stuttered. "I was… just looking at the flowers a bit."

"Oh! You can see them in the morning when the dew's on them," said Ino. "Unless you want to help me water them now?"

"Hai," Hinata said quickly, looking for a reason to stay outside a little longer so that she could figure out why she could not go inside the house. "You go get the watering cans and I'll wait here."

Ino stared at her for a moment. "Don't you want to put down your bags?" she asked, and then shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she said with a grin. "I'll be right back!"

Hinata watched as the blonde ran into the house to the back where she knew the watering cans were and then tried out what was happening.

She walked towards the door again and everything seemed fine until she wanted to step over the threshold. It was simply impossible to go inside. What was going on? She tried again and again to get inside. Hinata walked away and came back slowly, trying to sneak up on whatever it was that was stopping her but it still didn't work.

Ino came back with two cans. "Ready?" she asked and Hinata nodded with a painted smile.

It took quite some time to water all the flowers in the garden and by the time they were done, the sun was going down.

"Well that's the last of them," said Ino. Hinata followed her to go inside again, afraid of telling Ino that she could not enter for whatever reason it was. She met up with the barrier once more and froze.

"A-ano…"

"What are you waiting for?" asked Ino. "Come in."

Hinata literally felt the barricade shift for her to pass. What was that all about? She'd have to ask Sasuke about what happened.

They spent the night doing what ever they wanted. Prank calls, talking about boys, being online- they did it all until they were worn out.

They both collapsed on the bed.

"I had a great time," said Hinata. "I really missed this."

"Me too," said Ino and Hinata nearly choked when her best friend hugged her suddenly. "I'm so glad you came over… I missed you."

Hinata smile. "I know."

Ino let her go slowly and looked away. "Iie, I don't think you do."

Hinata was confused. What was Ino talking about? "What do you mean?" she asked the other girl.

"Remember the time Sakura and me were in an argument?" asked Ino. "And I said she was not my type?"

'_Oh Kami…'_

"H-hai?"

"I don't know why, Hina," said Ino. She looked completely ashamed of herself. "Demo… I like you."

Hinata paused, not knowing what to say. She was stuck with no clue whatsoever of what she could possibly say in this situation but finally, words came out.

"I have Sasuke."

"And if you didn't?" asked Ino.

"I'll always have Sasuke," Hinata whispered. "Is this why Chouji broke up with you? Because he found out your feelings for me?"

Ino grinned nervously. "Iie, he found out that I have a crush on Itachi."

Well that wasn't new. Hinata was sure half the population of the school liked Itachi even though they were afraid of him. That and he looked like Sasuke.

"So you're bi?" asked Hinata. She could not believe she was reacting this calmly.

"I still think I'm straight," replied Ino. "The only girl I feel this way about is you," she finished sadly. "It's sick, isn't it?"

"Iie," said Hinata, moving closer to Ino. "It's not sick. You can't control your emotions."

Hinata could feel her thirst rising and knew it was a bad idea to be so close to her preferred taste in blood among females, but she took the risk. Unfortunately, just like emotions, she could not control her thirst and urges either.

She knew she could not bite the girl in front her, but Ino's nervousness made her heart beat quicken, making her pulse that much faster so that Hinata could sense it stronger.

Hinata leaned in even more, smelling the other girl's hair and neck as they held onto each other. She could tell that Ino was somehow drawn to her and she could not help it either.

'_Just one quick bite…'_

Hinata flipped Ino onto her back, catching the other girl by surprise.

"Hinata, what are you doing?" asked Ino, not entirely protesting.

"I'm so sorry, Ino," Hinata apologized. "But you won't remember what I'm about to do."

Straddling the girl under her, Hinata moved in. This felt so different from what she was accustomed to. It was dead wrong of her to do this, but then again, it was wrong to be with Neji the way she was too. Case solved, guilt overrun.

It was amazing how much control she had now that she was an ST vampire. That didn't stop her body from reacting and she was deeply mortified. Ino ground her hips against Hinata's, causing them both to gasp.

"H-Hinata, you seem so different," Ino whispered as she pulled her down to kiss her.

Hinata thanked Kami that it was an innocent kiss, but that didn't stop her from feeling the intense thirst as she felt and saw that her mark surfaced, tracing all of Ino's veins. Ino traced her fingers over Hinata's cheek and the latter wasted no time, grasping Ino's hand and taking her wrist, sinking in her teeth.

Ino screamed but Hinata didn't know if it was from pleasure, shock, or pain. She was not bothered which it was for she was tasting new, fresh blood, straight from the veins.

The girl under her, jerked her hips upwards, and Hinata's teeth dug even further into the girl's wrist only to make more blood flow. Hinata was not sure if she would be able to stop and she was not sure if she wanted to. Ino's blood tasted so delicious; it was the first of a blonde's blood she had tasted.

"Ino, dear?"

Hinata dislodged her teeth from Ino's wrist and looked in the direction of the door where she heard Ino's mother's footsteps come closer to the door. What would Inorai-san say if she saw her on Ino like this?

She could see that Ino was barely able to talk from the shock of what had happened and she quickly got off, pulling the sheets over them, willing her mark to go away in time.

"Ino? Hinata?"

Inorai opened the door and Ino and Hinata looked at her innocently, smiles plastered on, Hinata's mark gone.

"Hai, Oka-san?" Ino asked sweetly. "I didn't know you came back."

"I came back not too long ago. I heard some noises up here so I came to see what was the matter," said Inorai. "Is everything alright?"

"Hai," Hinata said quickly. "We were just playing around before bed. Tickling, pillow fight… the usual. I'm sorry if it disturbed you."

Inorai looked at them both with narrowed eyes and then looked at Ino, who avoided eye contact. "Ok then. Get some sleep, it's pretty late."

"We will!" the two girls chirped, as Ino's mother closed the door.

They waited until her steps were far away and looked at each other. Hinata could tell that Ino was flustered at what had happened.

"Hinata, what did you do?" she asked.

The girl spoken to looked at her best friend. "I can't tell you," she said.

Ino turned around to back Hinata.

"I know you can't tell me," she heard the blonde say. "You never tell me what's going on anymore."

"Gomen," said Hinata. She knew that Ino was hurt from what had happened.

"It's not just 'gomen' anymore," Ino said. "…Why did you bite me like that? Drink my blood? Why were there veins around your eyes?"

Hinata was alarmed and before she could think, she pressed her two fingers to Ino's neck.

"Hinata, what are y-"

She could feel Ino's heart rate slow down as she was put to sleep. Hinata pressed her fingers to Ino's neck and leaned into her unconscious form.

"Gomen, Ino," Hinata whispered. "Demo… **_erase_**."

The point where Hinata's fingers were glowed faintly and Hinata was fascinated, seeing this for the first time.

She felt so guilty and wondered if this was how Sasuke felt when she had first tried to bite him. Even more, she felt a little angry at what her grandmother had done to both Neji and herself. How could the woman live knowing that her granddaughter didn't know her?

Hinata sighed and looked at the blonde next to her. What would she do about Ino's affections for her? She knew that she had no choice in the matter about her vampiric carnal impulses whether it be male or female, related or not, but she would have to hope Ino really forgot about what had happened.

She turned over on her stomach, pulling the covers over her head. Tomorrow was another day. She was too tired to deal with her dilemmas right now.

* * *

_**And that is the end of the chapter. I hope you liked it. Sorry again about the late chapter but I didn't know FF was back up and running until last night when I got a new chapter. I was not even able to read it, trying to finish this chapter since my enthusiasm had faded from the glitch. But it is back! So no worries, because the glitch is gone, thank goodness. **_

_**If you have not read **_**A Happy Ending**_** or **_**Hina hime**_**, please do.**_

_**Until next update…**_

_**Ja**_ _**ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_


	29. Revealing and Concealing

_**Hi there readers. It seems that every time I update, I get sick. I'm sorry about the late update so I gave you 5,000+ words to make up for it. Yes, I have a slight problem again; as I said, sometimes being a female sucks. I hope it doesn't affect my writing so read on!**_

_**Excuse any errors and R&R!!!**_

_**

* * *

  
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**Chapter 29: Revealing and Concealing  
**

**----------**

Hinata woke up to the wonderful smell of breakfast wafting from downstairs. Rolling over, she saw that Ino had not woken up yet so she carefully removed the covers and tried to sneak to the bathroom, feeling her thirst mount from being so close to the blonde.

"Where are you going?"

Hinata halted mid-step when she heard the groggy voice and if she was the type to swear, that would have been the opportune moment.

"A-ano… to the bathroom?" Hinata said nervously. She watched as Ino yawed and stretched, swinging her feet off the bed with a few sniffs.

"It seems my mum is making us breakfast," she said and then rubbed her temples. "Wow, do I have a bad headache. What happened last night? I don't remember much."

Hinata stumbled over what she could possibly tell her best friend. "We were up really late so maybe that's why," she said, picking up her pace to the bathroom, Ino right behind her.

She turned around at the door. "Do you mind if I go in first?" Hinata asked her.

"Why? We always have our bath together," said Ino. "Don't tell me you've gone all shy on me, Hina."

"O-of course not," Hinata stammered. "Demo… just give me five minutes ok?"

Ino turned around to go back to her drawers. "Ok, I'll just look for some clothes until you're done."

Hinata let out a sigh of relief when she closed the door and immediately took her wrist, already missing the blood Neji usually gave her on mornings. She drank her arm into numbness, trying to sate herself.

"You can come in now," said Hinata, when she opened the door, wiping her mouth and discreetly licking the smears of blood on her hand that was over the newly healed skin.

Ino smiled and looked up from setting out their clothes. She grabbed two towels from the bed and rushed up to Hinata. "Well let's get to it then," she said. "Ugh! Even though I'm supposed to be on a diet, I'm really hungry."

Hinata shook her head, as she picked up her toothbrush and put on some toothpaste. "I told you already that you're fine. I like you the way you are."

"Thanks, Hina," said Ino, taking the toothpaste from her and then they both brushed and rinsed, then washed their faces. They both grabbed a towel "You always know what to say- hey, what's this?"

"Hmm?" sounded Hinata, drying her face in the towel. "What's wro…?"

The words died on Hinata's lips as she saw what Ino was talking about. There, on the girl's wrist, were puncture wounds and there was a large purple bruise that had blossomed there as well.

"Hinata, what is this?" Ino asked, looking up at her, only to scream. "Oh Kami! Hinata!"

Said girl looked up and gasped at what she saw. Ino was looking in the mirror at her reflection… but there was no reflection of her there next to Ino of course. Hinata's mouth opened in attempt to find something to say that could explain what Ino was seeing, but everything she thought of failed to surface.

Hinata could only look in the mirror at Ino she stared at the spot where she should have been, utterly flabbergasted.

Ino pointed at the empty area. "Y-you're supposed to be there," the blonde said. She then looked at Hinata and blinked, shutting her eyes tightly each time. "You're here. Why aren't you in the mirror?"

"I can't tell you," said Hinata slowly, but before she could get anything else out, Ino grabbed her by the shoulders and not to gently shoved her against the tiled wall.

"Don't!" she hissed. "Don't you dare tell me that you can't explain this, because I know you can. You're just choosing not to."

She showed Hinata her wrist. "I know you know what this is about, Hina. Why can't I remember what happened last night?" she pressed. "I would love to think that we… that we- but I know that can never happen."

Hinata looked away but Ino brought her finger up to turn her face in her direction again. "Hina, I'm not stupid. It's not anemia, is it?"

Hinata could not bear to see the hurt and the slight trace of fear in Ino's eyes. She had wanted Ino to know about her, but she had never wanted it to be this way.

"Ino," Hinata started. "There are things that have happened to me that I can't tell you about yet, demo… I will tell you eventually. You're not ready to know yet."

"Iie!" Ino said furiously. "Don't tell me that crap, Hina. I'm your best friend for Kami's sake. I know you can't tell me every thing that's going on with you but you can at least give me an idea, a reason why you're so different now."

Hinata looked at Ino, feeling guilty. "Ok, ok. I'll tell you," said Hinata, finally giving in. She knew that Sasuke would probably not take this well but she could no longer keep Ino in the dark. She looked at her best friend, her face set. "Listen, Ino. I know that you're not the best person to reveal a secret to-"

Ino looked at Hinata pleadingly. "I'm so sorry about anything I let slip in the past, Hina," she said. "But you know that I've changed; I'm not that way anymore."

"Hai, I know but I have to make you swear, Ino," said Hinata. "Ino, don't make me regret it or I'll take it back."

Ino may not have known what she was talking about, but if she dared said anything about what she was to anyone, Hinata was going to be very angry, because she had promised Sasuke she would not tell the girl in front her so if Ino had to do tell a soul, Hinata swore that she would erase her memory and whoever else it was that she'd told. She took a deep breath to stabilize her racing heartbeat.

"Ino, I'm a-"

"Girls!"

Hinata and Ino looked around as they heard Inorai open the bedroom door.

"Girls, breakfast is done so come down when you're done!" the woman said, and then they stood there in silence after she left. Ino looked back at her.

"You were saying?" she said.

Hinata tried to beat around telling the girl by delaying. "C-can it wait until we eat?" she said, knowing full well that she wouldn't eat anyway.

"Iie, breakfast can wait," said Ino. "Hina, just spit it out."

Hinata prayed for Inorai to come through the door again but she never came, giving Hinata no choice but to say it.

"I'm a vampire, Ino."

The air around them stilled and Hinata watched as Ino stared at her blankly. "You're a… vampire?"

"Hai," Hinata confirmed, not sure of how Ino was reacting to this new piece of information.

"Is that the best you can do?" asked Ino with a hurt look. "How could you go so low to actually tell such a far fetched lie, boldly to my face?"

Oh no.

Ino was not taking this well at all. Hinata started to panic, something that was happening a lot lately as she held onto Ino who was trying to open the door now.

"Iie, let go," said Ino. She sounded so defeated that Hinata couldn't stand it.

"Ino, you have to believe me," she begged. "I'm a vampire, I swear. I bit you last night and erased your memory because I didn't want you to find out."

Ino stopped her struggling to look back at Hinata with tears in her eyes. She wiped them away furiously. "Why?" she asked.

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ino expanded. "I knew there was something wrong with you, especially since you came back from the summer.

"I tried to tell myself that maybe you had just changed as everyone does at some point in their lives; that I should give you space. I watched you from so far away as Naruto took you away and hurt you and I wanted to be there but Sasuke stepped in and there was no room for me."

Hinata could only listen as Ino poured out everything she had been feeling for so long. She could tell that Ino was deeply hurt.

"You were always so far away, Hina, and I think that's why I developed these awful feelings. I wanted to hang onto how close we were," Ino looked away.

"Demo… what I had been holding onto was a lie, wasn't it? All this time I thought you were on a diet, that you were sick, maybe your 'anemia' had gotten worse, that you probably wanted some time to yourself for awhile. But it was not that at all. You were hiding this from me; lying to my face."

"…Hai," confirmed Hinata. "I had wanted to tell you but Sasuke made me promise."

"Why would he do that?" asked Ino. "He wouldn't care that you told me unless… unless it affected him."

Ino opened the door and walked outside, seemingly forgetting about their bath, to go after breakfast. The blonde rounded on her.

"Sasuke's a vampire too, isn't he?" Ino whispered. "And if he's a vampire, then all of them are. Kin and Karin and Itachi- oh Kami! Are Sai and Naruto vampires too?"

Hinata shook her head. "Naruto isn't one yet, but Sai is," said Hinata.

"Yet?" asked Ino, holding her head as they went down the stairs. "This is a little too much for me to handle." She turned to Hinata when they got down to the bottom. "But you are going to prove to me that what you are saying is true."

This seemed as though it was going to wear out Hinata more than Ino for sure. They went into the kitchen where Inorai was sitting, eating her breakfast. Hinata did not now how she was able to do it, but she could read from Inorai's body language, she was deeply curious about what was going on with them.

She vaguely remembered Sai saying that vampires could not read minds but they could read body language and other things to tell what a person might be thinking.

"Ohayo, Inorai-san," Hinata greeted and Ino did the same as they sat. Hinata looked at the food nervously, afraid of the older woman finding out her secret. She was sure Ino would not be happy if she erased her mother's memory and Hinata was not so sure that she would be happy with herself either.

"Itadakimasu."

Hinata picked at the food, the smell of it drifting up her nose, making her slightly nauseous. She picked up some with her chopsticks and as soon as she put some in her mouth, she swore she would throw up right there on the table. The food turned to ashes and sand in her mouth and Hinata swallowed thickly, praying the food would not find its way back up.

"Hina-chan, aren't you going to eat anything more?" asked Inorai. "Don't tell me you're on a diet like Ino?"

"H-hai," Hinata lied.

"You look a little pale though, Hina. Are you ok?" asked Ino, looking across at her. She was actually eating something for a change.

"Hai," Hinata repeated. She got up from the table. "May I please be excused?" she asked politely, swallowing hard.

"Sure, Hina-chan," said Inorai. "Go ahead."

Ino stood up as well, shoveling down the last of her breakfast. "Is it ok if I go as well, Oka-san?" asked Ino.

"Hai, but I want to talk to you first," her mother said.

Hinata rushed up the stairs and emptied her stomach in the toilet, washed her face and brushed her teeth again, and then took her wrist again before going back down stairs. Hinata was not one to eavesdrop so she was just continued to go down, but the older Yamanaka thought Hinata was out of earshot- which she wasn't- and continued to talk to her daughter.

"What's going on with you and Hinata?" Inorai asked. As soon as Hinata heard her name, she could not help but to slow her pace.

"Nothing's going on, Oka-san," Ino replied.

"Ino, I know about your little attraction to Hinata and I've told you before that it's not healthy," Inorai said. "I don't see why you couldn't stay with that nice boy. I've known his family for many years since your father works with his."

"But I do like Chouji," said Ino. "_He_ broke up with _me_."

"And I should think he had good reason," her mother told her. "You like your best friend. It has to stop."

There was silence and Hinata waited as she was at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's not just Hinata that I've been looking at," said Ino. "I like someone else too, but I don't think I'll ever have a chance with him."

"Then figure out what you're doing, Ino," Inorai said. "You know I'm not just your mother, I'm your friend too and you know that we tell each other everything. I'm telling you this for your own good. Hinata has a boyfriend, Ino. That boy you've been obsessed with for years and even though you were slightly jealous at first, you got over it."

Ino was jealous of her? Why didn't Ino say something?

"I know, Oka-san," said Ino softly. "I'll get over Hinata too. I think it may just be a phase from not being close to her. I'll try to work things out with Chouji if things don't work out otherwise."

Hinata could hear the ruffle of clothing as the mother seemingly hugged her daughter. "I'm not forcing you to do anything," Hinata heard the woman say. "I know you're closer to your father and it's not so easy with him being out of town, but I'm still here."

"Arigatou, Oka-san."

Hinata took this as her cue to rush back up the stairs as quickly and soundlessly as possible and flopped on the bed, throwing her arm over her face.

How could Ino be jealous of her when it was the exact opposite when they were younger? Hinata had always wanted what Ino had as a child. A loving mother, an understanding father, a cute brother- even though he was on the trip with her father. She had wanted that and her best friend had it all her life.

She kept still as Ino came up the stairs and opened the door.

"Hey, Hina," the blonde started, acting as though nothing had happened between her and her mother. "Let's go have a bath. I figured we could go out today."

Hinata removed her hand and blinked away the blurriness from her eyes as she looked at her best friend. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"To the flower shop," said Ino. "It's soon Christmas and there will be a lot more customers than usual."

Ino took off her clothes on the way to the bathroom. "Come on, Oka-san's kinda tired so I told her we'd run the shop today."

Hinata followed Ino to the bathroom and undressed as well, stepping in behind the girl as she turned on the hot water.

"Wow, you've really changed," said Ino, looking Hinata up and down. "I bet Sasuke can't keep his hands off you."

Hinata blushed and looked away, searching for a way to change the subject. "So you're okay with me being with him?" she asked.

"Hai, I'm fine with it," said Ino. "It took me all of a week to get over it actually." Ino looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Hey, Hina?"

"Hai?" answered Hinata, wondering what was going on in Ino's head.

"Can you show me?"

"Show you what?" asked Hinata, even though she had a pretty good idea what Ino was talking about.

"I want you to show me something, other than the fact that you bit me last night and your reflection doesn't show up in mirrors."

Hinata thought for awhile before she came up with something to show Ino since she had not done it since she had fully awakened. "Hai." She concentrated, reaching into her mind to hear the faint buzz. '_Take me into the other room, onegai.'_

She watched as Ino's mouth hung open at seeing her disappear and smiled as she appeared in Ino's room with the buzz of her bees. '_Take me back.'_

Appearing in front of Ino again, Hinata grinned at the pure look of shock on her best friend's face. "Is that proof enough?" she asked.

Ino nodded quickly, apparently to stunned to say anything for awhile. They finished their bath and by the time they were dressing. Ino gained back her voice.

"That was so amazing!" Ino gasped. "I never thought anything like this was possible and my best friend, my own best friend is a vampire."

Hinata could not stop from smiling even as they were going through the door to go to the shop. Her best friend had accepted what she was and she was glad.

On the bus, Hinata took out her phone to call Sasuke and see how he was doing. She knew it was a little early, but he would be up anyway. She waited as the phone rang about seven times before putting down.

"Who are you calling?" asked Ino, who was sitting next to her.

"Sasuke," said Hinata. "But he's not picking up."

"Maybe the signal's bad because we are in the bus so you should try when we get off," suggested Ino.

Hinata nodded but called a second time, and still did not get an answer. She even called when she had gotten off the bus but nothing still. Hinata left a small text for him, telling him where she was and wished him a good day before putting the phone away.

It was amazing how much she was missing talking to him.

* * *

Sasuke woke up with the sun and got ready. He was going to go to the mines to have Hinata's gift made and he wanted to get there as early as possible. He rushed downstairs and drained a glass of blood and by the time he was on his second glass, he felt Itachi come in.

"I heard you're going to get a cross fashioned," his older brother said.

"Hai," said Sasuke. "I've decided to give her for Christmas and birthday."

Sasuke snatched up his jacket and went to the door to put on his shoes.

"Naruto said that he wants to convert," Itachi said from behind him.

Sasuke paused tying his laces for a split second before he continued but he knew that Itachi had caught it. "I'm happy for him," said Sasuke, and he really was. "Just don't go too hard on him when his training comes around."

As he went through the door, he collected the keys from the table. "I'll talk to Naruto when I come back."

Itachi held out a glass vial for him to take. "It's for your blood to give to the jewelsmith."

Sasuke took the vial from Itachi, went to the car and drove off, following the directions he had stuck to the dashboard. He didn't have the time to think about Naruto's turning right now, he had a mission for the day.

He was very glad that his best friend finally wanted to convert but he was slightly worried for him since he knew that even though Naruto appeared to always be happy and forgiving, he held a lot in. Sasuke did not want him to risk his life. He was angry at him before and had wished nothing but pain on Naruto, but things were back to normal and he hoped the conversion would not be too unbearable.

After driving for quite sometime, Sasuke came upon the deserted roads of the outskirts of Konoha. The sun had been up a long time ago so he guessed it was around eleven. When he thought about it, he had been doing quite a bit of driving, seeing as he left home just after six.

He looked at the piece of paper again and sighed in relief that the mines were very close and turned off the main road. Driving for another ten minutes, he came upon a large stone blocking what seemed to be the entrance at the side of the mountain and parked, making sure to lock the doors, shoving anything he had in the car behind the seats and out of sight.

Sasuke came to the large stone blocking the way as well as a flat stone pillar that was half his height. It reminded him so much of a tomb that Sasuke was just about ready to turn around, hop in his car, and drive away.

He looked left and right but saw no signs of life and had to question if he had come to the right place but then he saw some drips of dried blood on the pillar and when he peered close enough, he saw a little groove in the stone that was clearly done for a finger.

Sasuke bit his thumb and pressed it into the groove, working on instinct and was both pleased and slightly awed when the stone began to move, the rumble resounding through the silence as it revealed the entrance. He looked far into the cave-like structure and let out a breath. It was now or never.

Squaring his shoulders, Sasuke went into the mines as he sucked his thumb. At least he could see where he was going by the torches in the brackets on the walls, but he could sense many vampires all over the mines, the further they were the fainter the scent. He could also hear what sounded like hammering as he went deeper into the mountain.

"What can I do for you?"

Sasuke jumped as a man appeared before him. He looked rough and pale, probably from not being outside much, his eyes dark.

"I'm here to have crosses made," replied Sasuke.

"Hmm, crosses, eh? I don't hear that often," the man said. "I'm Chokichi. Come this way."

Chokichi led him deeper still until he came to what seemed to be the center of the mountain.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight before him. The hall was beautiful. There were gems encrusted in the walls and on the stone floor. The opening of the mountain in the ceiling let in the white light from outside, making the stones sparkle and the walls glitter.

All around them, there were miners cutting the gems and collecting them, the clacking and filing sounds, filling the mountain. They didn't even look around as Sasuke and Chokichi came in. There was a table in the center of the hall where there was some equipment and three chairs.

Chokichi sat in one and motioned for Sasuke to sit in the another. "You say you want crosses," the man said, cutting right down to business. "How many do you want?"

"Two," said Sasuke. He took out the folded paper from his pocket and gave it to the man, who looked it over and put it on the table. "Can you make those?"

"Of course I can," said Chokichi. "I wouldn't be the boss of this place if I couldn't." He peered at the paper again. "Birthstone?"

"Blue topaz," said Sasuke. "Demo… I want these to be special. I'd like zircon and lapis lazuli as well." He pointed to the paper. "See? I made some little notes so you'd know exactly what I want."

"It won't be easy, what you want," said Chokichi. "But I can get it done. It's going to cost you a little more though. Two vials of blood; one from you and one from your mate to be."

Sasuke would have to ask Hinata for a vial of her blood. He only hoped she would not ask him why. "When do you want the blood?" he asked the man.

"One vial now and one after the job is done," said Chokichi. He narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "You look awfully familiar. Have I seen you here before?"

"Iie, but you may have seen my cousin, Sai. I'm Sasuke," the brunet said. "We're of the Uchiha clan."

"Ahh…"

"Is there a problem?" Sasuke asked.

"Iie, not at all," said Chokichi. "You're as pure as a mixed clan can get. I can still remember your cousin's blood; very thick. All of you Uchihas do."

The man got a fresh piece of paper from the drawer of the desk and wrote something on it and then he attached it to Sasuke's paper with a paperclip.

"Tell you what," he said. "For blood like yours, I'll have your crosses ready in two days, Sasuke-san."

Chokichi took a clipboard from another drawer, attached Sasuke's paper to it, and gave it to Sasuke. "Sign here."

Sasuke looked at Chokichi, expecting the man to give him a pen, but the older man just watched him before snapping his fingers.

"Ah, I keep forgetting you young people are new to this," he said. "You sign with your blood print, just like you did to get in here."

Sasuke nodded and bit his thumb, then pressed it to the bottom of the page.

"This here will be like your receipt," said Chokichi. "And your blood feeds the mines, miners, and the stones that will produce your crosses."

Sasuke nodded as the man explained it all to him and then Chokichi stood up, holding his hand out to shake his hand. Sasuke stood up and put his hands in the calloused one.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Sasuke-san," said Chokichi and then he turned Sasuke's hand upward, showing his wrist. "First payment if you will."

Chokichi let go Sasuke's hand and the latter took out the vial from his pocket, turning away. Sasuke then sank his teeth in his wrist lightly, slightly puncturing skin as caught the beads of blood in the vial, flexing his hand for more to come out until it was filled. Licking his wrist, Sasuke gave Chokichi the vial.

"Hmm, yes, this is very good," said Chokichi, twisting the vial this way and that to watch the blood flow. "You can come back in three days at dawn to avoid the rush; Christmas is coming up you know."

"Arigato," said Sasuke. "I'll see you then.

"By the way," Chokichi called. "Is your mate an Uchiha as well or of another mixed clan?"

"She's from the Hitomi clan," said Sasuke, watching as Chokichi's eyes lit up.

"A pure blood?" he asked in disbelief. "I never had the chance of tasting pure blood before. You're a lucky boy. Forget three days, make it two."

Sasuke nodded and saw himself out of the mines and went back to his car. He just sat there for awhile, gripping the steering wheel until he started the car and drove off. He turned on the radio and changed the station, moving his head to the music. He checked the time and saw that it was after two; the time had really flown.

That was not a problem though. The faster time went, the better, for he would be able to see Hinata tomorrow to teach he to drive and he couldn't wait. Shielding his eyes from the sunlight, Sasuke's mind was on the thought of the finished product of his crosses.

When Sasuke got home, he went to have the rest of the Ziploc of blood he had that morning and went up to his room. He hadn't even realized he'd left his phone at home until he saw it on the bed and took it up to see that there were three miscalls and a message that was from a lot earlier.

Hey Sasuke, I tried to call u but u didn't pick up. I hope u have a good day. I miss you.

Sasuke smiled at the message and texted back.

I went out but I forgot my phone so I wasn't able to pick up when u called, gomen. I had a fairly acceptable day, but I hope u had a better one. I miss u 2.

Sasuke slid his phone shut and threw it back on the bed. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was after seven and smiled even more.

"Sasuke?"

The boy in question looked around to see his best friend in the doorway. "Come in. What are you waiting for?" said Sasuke as he lay down.

Naruto grinned and Sasuke almost regretted it when he was nearly bounced right off the bed as Naruto pounced on it.

"So where did you go?" asked Naruto. "You were gone the entire day."

"Places."

Naruto pouted. "I'm going to find out anyway- Ahh!"

The blond nearly crushed Sasuke as the phone under him vibrated. "What were you doing on it in the first place?"

"Ahh… keeping it safe?" said Naruto with a nervous chuckle. He tried to snatch up the phone but Sasuke was faster, grabbing it first as he shoved Naruto to the side.

Sasuke shook off the jolt of thirst he felt and quickly bit his tongue as he read the message.

I went to the flower shop with Ino today. It was busy but lots of fun. What did u do?

Sasuke texted her back as he talked to Naruto. "So I hear you're going to convert," he said to the blond.

"Hai," I think I'm finally ready to take that big step," said Naruto. "I think Karin may be too."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked him.

I was just driving around.

"Yeah, We're sure… what was it like?" asked Naruto curiously.

Sasuke smirked at him. "You can't know until the time comes," he said as he waited for another text. "Even I had to wait to find out. Just make sure you're prepared for it."

Driving around? That doesn't sound like something u'd do. Are u alright?

"Hai," said Naruto with a scoff. "What the worst that happened to you?"

"I died."

I'm fine. I just had 2 get some things done. Nothing's wrong or anything, Im not doing anthing illegal. Will u b coming online 2night?

"Holy shit, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed. "Are you serious?!"

"Hai, Naruto," Sasuke said. "I wasn't even supposed to tell you that so consider yourself lucky for knowing a little of what to expect."

Lol! Iie, I'm so tired. The shop was really busy. Do u want me 2?

"This is some serious stuff," said Naruto, his face set. "But it's what I want to do. I'm not just doing it because it's cool or because I want to live forever. I want to live forever with Karin, even with all her flaws. And she does too."

It's fine. I understand. Have a good night, Hina. I love you.

Sasuke smiled at his best friend. "That's something I would expect a mature person to say, Naruto," he said, sitting up. "You've really changed."

"Hai!" said Naruto, getting up and running to the door. "No midnight talk tonight though, Sasuke," said Naruto with a wink. "I've got 'stuff' to do."

Sasuke actually grinned as his friend bounced away and lay down again as the phone vibrated, alerting him of another text.

Goodnight, Sasuke. I can't wait to see u tomorrow…

So she still had not gotten over not saying that she loved him? He could understand why she was that way, but could only hope that she would say it someday as he got up to go have a shower before going to bed.

Hopefully it would be soon.

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_**That's it readers, I hope you liked it.**_

_**If you have not read **_**Hina hime** _**or **_**A Happy Ending**_**, please do.**_

_**Until next update…**_

_**Ja**_ _**ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_


	30. First Official Day Of Vacation

_**Hi readers! Yes, I know that this is a late update but I was a mess over the weekend and could not bring myself to even look at the pc- I must have been really sick (sucks to be female sometimes; didn't I say that last chapter?) **_

_**Anyway, I'm still feeling a little under and me eyes are much better so I hope I do ok with this chapter. I hope the way I feel doesn't affect my writing. There won't be many added words this time-just 3000+ I'm just not feeling well; I'm so sorry.**_

_**Excuse any errors and R&R!!!**_

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**Chapter 30: First Official Day of Vacation  
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"Wait, you're going a little too fast."

Hinata eased her foot up a little on the gas as she went around the corner. "Better?" she asked, taking a hand off the wheel to scratch her neck.

"Hai," Sasuke answered. "Don't take your hand off the wheel."

"Gomen," said Hinata, her eyes focused on the road. She felt a little nervous at the thought of driving, but she knew she was doing alright since Sasuke had not yelled at her yet. According to Naruto, Sasuke was a forceful instructor and had even steered the car for Naruto.

But Sasuke said that was because Naruto had the habit of drifting in the way of the occasional bus or other large vehicle.

Hinata found driving to be a lot of fun; much like riding a bike. She just had to focus since it was her first time and everything would be fine.

They had been driving around the blocks for a couple hours to get Hinata used to controlling the car and other important aspects such as using the indicators and wipers.

Sasuke said that since it was her first day, he would not let her try reversing or anything like that, but just the simple things like staying on her side of the road and turning corners.

"Sasuke," said Hinata after awhile and they were on the straight. "When I was at Ino's at first I could not get through the door. Do you know why that would happen?"

Sasuke thought for awhile and then looked her way. "I heard about that but it doesn't happen very often," he said. "I had no problem going to Naruto's old apartment last week and I'm turned as well. But I heard that it happens only when the house of the human doesn't recognize you."

"What does that mean?" asked Hinata, glancing at him.

"Don't take your eyes off the road," Sasuke warned her. "Ino may have recognized you but she didn't know what you were at the time so she had to invite you in. That's what she did right?"

"Hai."

"Wait a minute…" Sasuke sighed audibly. "… Hinata, did you tell her?"

Hinata was silent for a moment before she finally answered. "…hai- but I didn't mean to, she found out when she looked in the mirror. That and… a-ano, she noticed the bite marks she had."

"Nani?!"

Sasuke's outburst startled Hinata and she slammed her feet on the accelerator, causing the car to shoot off and swerve before she shoved both her feet on the breaks. "G-gomen."

"Don't worry, Naruto was worse," said Sasuke, then he turned serious. "You bit Ino?" He didn't even wait for Hinata to answer. "What were you thinking biting her? And then you tell her what you are? Ino has a very big mouth, Hinata-pull of the road, you're blocking someone."

Hinata wordlessly pulled up and turned off the car. She rounded on Sasuke.

"It's not my fault, I couldn't control it," she said. "I never meant for her to find out. I even erased her memory."

"I don't get it," said Sasuke. "How could you be so close in order to bite her?"

"We slept together," Hinata replied. "She was right there next to me and we were talking about… stuff and my thirst acted up."

Sasuke thought for awhile. "And how did she react? It's not everyday someone bites you."

"She didn't mind actually," said Hinata. "She kinda likes me so-"

"Iie, hold up," Sasuke cut in. "You did not just say what I thought I heard you say. What do you mean she likes you?"

"Just as I said it," Hinata told him.

"So you're telling me Ino is a lesbian? Give me a break; I don't believe that after she's been trying to get at me for all these years."

"She's not a lesbian," said Hinata. "Ino said I'm the only girl she's every felt that way about."

"Well you're the first and the last," Sasuke said. "There's no way I'm letting her near you."

"Why not?" asked Hinata. "It's not like I like her too. She's my friend and all but I told her that I have you."

"And if you didn't?" asked Sasuke, reminding her of when Ino had asked her the same thing.

"I'll always have you," Hinata said with a faint blush. She turned her face the other way to avoid seeing how Sasuke had reacted but she felt him take her shoulders and bit her tongue.

"How can you say that, but yet you can't tell me you love me?" Sasuke asked her quietly and Hinata shrugged her shoulders, making Sasuke smile. "It's ok. I understand."

He leaned in to kiss Hinata and she responded immediately before she broke it. "We're in public," she told him, turning back to the wheel and starting up the car again. Sasuke just smirked at her and sat silently as she drove them to his house, except for the occasional instructions to slow down or speed up.

Hinata had a little trouble pulling into the driveway but she eventually got it done, even though she went a little over the curb. She was not surprised when Naruto came running out of the house, screaming.

"Hey!" he yelled. He ran all around the car. "That's not what happened the first time _I_ drove. The bumper had been ripped off before I even left the driveway!" He leaned into Hinata through the window. "There's not a scratch on this thing!"

"Watch it," said Sasuke, when he got out. He hauled Naruto back by the collar. "Don't shout at her."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck, which Hinata mimicked, and brushed off Sasuke's hand. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, you did great, Hinata."

"Arigato," Hinata said with a slight grin as she got out of the car.

"Iie, I mean it," Naruto told her. "I'm surprised you can hear what I'm saying. Sasuke nearly killed me when I first started. He's favoring you, isn't he? Because you're his girlfriend?"

Sasuke slapped his best friend on the head. "Of course not. She's just a natural driver."

Hinata blushed as Sasuke wrapped an arm around her and went towards the door to go inside.

"You know Sasuke," said Hinata when they got to the kitchen to get something to drink. "You never told me what you were doing yesterday. I highly doubt you would have just been driving around yesterday unless something was on your mind."

Hinata watched as Sasuke's face changed a moment before he was expressionless, trying to block her out. She felt hurt.

"I told you nothing," he said. "Nothing important so just forget it."

"Hai…"

Hinata sipped her blood quietly as she observed Sasuke. She could see plainly that something was up with him. She could read him so well that she could even feel a little nervousness. What could Sasuke be nervous about?

As she scratched her neck, Hinata followed Sasuke up to his room and sat on the bed. Why was her neck itching so much? The last time it itched…

Ah.

It was around that time, wasn't it?

Hinata blushed as she turned away. Sasuke would have to bite her this time and she would have to bite him. It made her shiver just thinking about it what with all that happened between Itachi and herself. She knew it would be a lot different.

She looked across at Sasuke, who was deep in thought, but before she could say anything her phone rang.

"Moshi moshi?" she answered.

"_Hey, Hinata,"_ It was Neji. "_Are you ready to come home yet?"_

Hinata stole a glance at Sasuke who had just turned to see what was going on. If he was going to ignore her, she could go home where she was wanted.

"Hai, I'm ready," she told Neji.

"_Alright, I'll be right there."_

Hinata hung up the phone and looked across at Sasuke, who had his brow raised in question.

"Nani?" she asked him.

"What are you ready for?" asked Sasuke.

"I'm ready to go home now," Hinata told him.

"Why?"

"Because you're ignoring me."

"I'm not. I was thinking-"

"About nothing, right?" said Hinata. "You can think about _nothing_ all you want when I leave."

Sasuke came closer to her, touching her hand. "I'm not ignoring you, alright? It's just that I'm trying to sort something out."

"Well if you have to sort something out, that you can't tell me about, then why do you need me here?" asked Hinata. She knew she was being difficult, but so was he. She got up to go downstairs, but Sasuke took her arm and pulled her back, making her trip over the mat and land on him.

"What did you do that for?" asked Hinata biting her tongue.

"I don't want you to leave like this, that's all," said Sasuke, wrapping his arms around Hinata's waist. The scent of his blood flooded her nose and she knew he had bitten his tongue as well, the scent was intoxicating.

"I'm not angry or anything," said Hinata. "I just want to give you some time to get whatever it is that's bugging you off your chest."

She looked down at Sasuke, staring in his deep, onyx eyes. She could see so clearly that something was there, but she just couldn't figure it out. She could tell that it was nothing bad, but what was so wrong with wanting to know what your boyfriend was thinking?

Hinata was so deep in thought, she was startled when she felt Sasuke's lips on hers. "What are _you_ thinking about?" he mocked with a smirk.

Hinata smiled and kissed him, nipping his lips as he did the same, their teeth lengthened. She was sure she would never get tired of his blood. Sasuke flipped them over, straddling her as he raised her hands over her head. Hinata felt her cheeks tingle as a blush blossomed on her face when Sasuke started to unbutton her shirt. Before she knew it, her mark had appeared.

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He had been thinking about the perfect plan to get Hinata's blood and this was it. He knew it was not right to do it, but it was the only way he would be able to get the payment for her gift without outright asking for the blood.

He felt so guilty as he unbuttoned her shirt and kissed her, but he was on a mission.

That mission flew right out of his mind when he saw the bra Hinata was wearing; her heavy breathing causing her breasts to spill over the lacy confinements.

Sasuke molded them in his hands and Hinata held his hands there, silently telling him to continue with beet red cheeks. He leaned in and kissed her gently, before sitting on his legs again to take her shirt off completely.

His hands did the exact opposite when he felt another presence in the room. Sasuke gathered Hinata's shirt tightly and leaned over her to hide the blushing girl from her cousin.

Hinata gasped as she looked around him.

"Neji!"

Said boy gave a disgusted sound and turned around. "I did not need to see you on my cousin."

"No one told you not to knock," Sasuke retorted. Neji just opened the door, which Sasuke had not even heard open in the first place, and stepped through the door.

"I'll be downstairs," he said.

Hinata scrambled from under Sasuke and buttoned her shirt quickly, her mark gone, as she sat at the end of the bed.

Sasuke reached into the drawer next to his bed and took out the vial. "Hinata," he said, getting her attention. "I want you to put some of your blood in here."

Hinata looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Where's that coming from?" she asked. "Why do you want it?"

Sasuke thought up a quick lie. "I just wanted to taste you more, that's all. I can't get enough. It's like when you take Neji's blood on mornings."

Hinata blush of embarrassment intensified but she bit her wrist and held it out to him, some of it dripping on the sheets. He took her wrist and squeezed hard enough for more blood to drip into the vial. He had to reopen the tiny puncture so he could get the vial as full as possible.

Sasuke and Hinata got up and she pecked him on the cheek. "Sorry about Neji," she said.

"It's ok," said Sasuke as they went down the stairs. "That always happens with us, but next time I'm locking the door."

Hinata laughed as they continued to where Neji was in the living room. Naruto was there as well as Karin with Naruto telling Neji about Hinata's driving. He was talking as though he had been there.

"-completely unbelievable! I wrecked the whole neighborhood when I first sat behind a steering wheel!" Naruto exaggerated. "I thought Sasuke was going to kill me."

Sasuke looked at Hinata as she couldn't help but laugh and smiled. It was good to know she could laugh and be happy around Naruto again.

Neji looked around and saw that he and Hinata had come down and stood up.

"Are you ready?" he asked her, and Sasuke could tell that Hinata regretted asking him to pick up so soon.

"Hai," said Hinata and Neji walked to the door with Hinata following after they said their farewells to Naruto and Karin. Sasuke trailed her to the door where her coat was and watched as Neji helped her put it on.

They looked so close, so in sync with the other that Sasuke had to wonder if he had that with Hinata as well when she held out Neji's coat for him and fixed his collar. Hinata turned to him as Neji opened the door.

"See you later, Sasuke," she said with a small smile. "I'll see you on Christmas day."

Thank goodness it was not that far from here.

"Hn, I'll see you then," said Sasuke.

Hinata turned around and went through the door with Neji as the latter said goodbye and they were gone.

With nothing to do, Sasuke opted to just go into the living room and watch TV. When he got there, he saw that Kin and Sai had come down there as well- Itachi was not in the house. Naruto was hopping up and down on the couch begging for something to the others.

"Onegai, onegai, onegai!" Naruto screamed, making Sasuke regret wanting to watch something with them. He walked up to Naruto and slapped him on the back.

"Shut up. Whatever it is you want, go do it."

Boy, Sasuke should not have said that.

Naruto bounded from the couch and crawled to the entertainment system to get a DVD from the rack and put it in the player before hopping back to the couch to snuggle up to Karin, who was rolling her eyes. Kin and Sai were not even affected. They just sat there waiting for whatever it was that was about to show.

"Did you have to tell him that?" asked Karin. "You have no idea what you just did."

But Sasuke found out when the DVD started.

"Naruto are you serious?" asked Sasuke. "When did you even get that?"

"I saw it at the store and I had to have it!" Naruto said excitedly. He put his finger to his lips and shushed him. "Shh, it's about to start."

Now he would have to endure watching, not Bambi 1, but…

Bambi 2.

Oh well, at least his first real day of vacation had not been that bad.

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_**Well that's it! Sorry about not updating last night but my father did something to the pc and it was not working. He allowed a whole lot of Trojans on it and I had to deal with it before updating. I love Bambi, so don't think I insulted it in any way. I hope the chapter was fine and you enjoyed it. Sorry about not extending it a bit like I do when I update late but you know why.**_

_**If you have not read **_**Hina hime** _**or **_**A**** Happy Ending** _**please do.**_

_**Until next update…**_

_**Ja**_ _**ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_


	31. Okaeri

**_Hi there! Not much to say really except I'm stressed out from school; medical transcription is tough. I had lots of trouble trying to get this up since FF was taking out all my quotation marks and rearanging everything, including taking out all my formats like bold and stuff as you can probably tell. Sorry about reupdating but I saw there were still some problems with the format. Anyway, let's get with it._**

&R!!!&R!!!

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Chapter 31: Okaeri

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Hinata woke up scratching her neck.

What day was it again? Oh yeah, it was the Tuesday before Christmas.

Untangling herself from Neji, who rolled over to his side to back her, Hinata got out of bed and dragged her feet to the bathroom. Sometimes she wished she could sleep in like everyone else but then again, she was not like everyone else, was she?

After brushing her teeth and having a bath, Hinata just put on a large T-shirt with her underwear and went downstairs to get something to drink as she bit her wrist; she would wait until Neji woke up to get some blood.

She did not feel like drinking a Ziploc anyway, she wanted fresh blood from the veins and she was afraid that if she bit Neji when he was still sleeping she would get carried away like she had yesterday.

Hinata was feeling particularly thirsty and Neji had offered her his wrist. But she had wanted more and ended up nearly draining him, which was the reason he was so tired now. She did not know what had happened, but she just didn't let go, even after she had heard Neji asking her to stop until, finally, he had to pull her off.

She felt terrible for it but Neji told her humans weren't perfect and neither were vampires. At least Hanabi was not there to see since she had gone to a sleepover with Moegi. Hinata bit him downstairs when they were in the kitchen and she was ever so glad the maids had gone by then.

Hinata opened the fridge and grimaced at the smell of food wafting out, took a bottle of water and sat down at the table while opening the bottle to take a sip of water, which had no taste whatsoever, and sighed as it wet her throat.

Just then the phone rang.

Hinata looked around, wondering if the maids were around, but when she heard nothing, she ran to answer it.

"Moshi moshi?"

_"Hinata?"_

Hinata's eyes widened. "Otou-san?" she said, surprised.

_"Hai,"_ Hiashi confirmed._ "How are you doing?"_

"I'm doing well," Hinata told him. She had not heard from him in so long, only knowing he was alive from the sheer fact that the maids and other workers around the house were still getting paid. "And you?"

_"I am doing fine. How are Hanabi and Neji?"_ he asked her.

"They are good too."

_"Oh, that's good to hear,"_ Hiashi said. _"Hanabi's not giving trouble, is she?"_

"Iie, just the regular teenager," said Hinata, sitting down. Despite the fact that Hiashi was not the best father in the world in the past, he had really tried to make up for it on his last visit and it was nice hearing his voice.

_"Is she there now?"_

"Iie, she's over at a friend's for a sleepover," said Hinata. "Don't worry, her friend's mother called and everything," she continued before the question was asked.

_"Hmm… That's too bad though,"_ Hiashi said. _"I had something planned."_

"Really?" asked Hinata, getting curious.

_"Hai, I had a surprise for you all."_

Hinata's curiosity peeked but before she could ask him, the doorbell sounded.

"Can you hold for a second, Otou-san?" asked Hinata and after she got the okay, she went to answer the door with the phone-it was cordless, wondering who it was, thinking that it may be the maids. But that wasn't right, they had keys.

Hinata opened the door and her mouth fell open. There was Hiashi with his cell phone to his ear, actually smiling at her.

"Otou-san?!" Hinata said excitedly and nearly dropped the phone when Hiashi winced from the squeal that was not only in front of him but in his ear as well. He stood there in his expensive dress suit and suitcase at his feet, his long hair pulled back.

"Hai."

Hinata smiled and rushed forward, hugging him tightly as he hugged her as well, patting her back. "Okaeri!"

Pulling away, Hinata beamed up at him as he flipped his phone shut and she turned off hers. "This certainly is a surprise," she said. "I would have never thought you would be coming home."

"Well I needed a little vacation," said Hiashi as he took up the suitcase. "So I'll be staying until the weekend after my birthday."

"So where is Neji?" he asked.

"Upstairs sleeping," Hinata told him, not telling him exactly where. He probably would not like it if he knew Hinata and Neji were sleeping together half naked.

Hinata moved aside to let him pass and set the suitcase on the mat before turning to shut the door. "Are the maids here yet?" he asked her as they sat down in the living room. "I didn't tell them I would be coming home so I want to know if my room is fine."

"It should be okay," Hinata told him, sitting as well when she put the phone on its cradle. "Do you want me to check?"

"Iie, I'll check it," her father said, getting up. "I've had a long travel from the city and I'm tired so I'll go up to the guest room. When the maids get here, have them clean my room and wake me. I have other gifts and surprises for you all but you have to wait, ok?"

"Hai."

Hiashi turned to her on his way to the steps. "And what are you wearing? Did you really answer the door like that?" he asked. "What did I tell you about dressing that way when there's a male in the house?"

"He's my cousin."

"And a potential mate, as much as I hate to admit that."

Had he just spoken about her nature willingly?

"Hinata grinned at him. "I think you'd have to worry about him more than me," she said.

"Hmph just put on something with that shirt," finished Hiashi and continued walking in the direction of the stairs.

Hinata nodded and watched as he left with a small smile. She did not think she would be so happy to see him but she was. It was great to know that he was not as harsh as he had been and figured that time away from the three of them had done him some good.

She knew how much stress it was keeping up with Hanabi while juggling her own life and keeping her secret and so she could only imagine having to take care of two small children and a baby, while maintaining the house and dealing with the grief of losing his wife and mother of his children.

In the end, she forgave him.

Hinata got up and went upstairs to her room and saw that Neji was still sleeping. Going over to her drawer quietly, she took out the shorts and put them on before going to the computer.

She signed on and saw that nearly no one was there. What was strange was the fact that Sasuke was not on. He usually came online around the same time as her since she had visited him and it had become a part of their daily ritual for the vacation to keep in touch until Christmas.

And on the topic of Christmas, what would happen now that her father was back in town? Would Hiashi want to spend time with all of them that day?

Not wanting to think about that, she was more focused on where Sasuke would be since he could not possibly be sleeping. Maybe he had somewhere to go or was just hanging around the house until later. Hinata surfed the internet some more until more people appeared and chatted a little.

x

It was nearly one in the afternoon when her phone vibrated and taking it up, she saw it was a text message from Sasuke.

**_Hey,  
Sorry about not being online today but something came up that I need to sort out today. I'll talk to you later tonight online_**.

Hinata read the words again to make sure she had not misread anything and then replied.

_**OK.**_

She then deleted the messages and put the phone on the desk.

"Hinata?"

Said girl turned around to see Neji sitting up and looking at her. "Was that Sasuke?" he asked.

"Hai."

"Isn't he online?" Neji asked her again on his way to the bathroom.

"Iie, he just texted me and said he had something to do," said Hinata with a frown. What was up with Sasuke lately? The frown turned into an unsure smile. "Oh, Neji? I bathed already so it would seem strange to hear the shower running."

Neji looked at her like she was going a little crazy. "What are you talking about? I bathe here all the time."

"Shh, he might hear you," Hinata whispered playfully.

"Who?" Neji asked her, probably wondering if she was going mad now, since the only male in the house was him.

Hinata took a deep breath. "Otou-san is back."

Neji stared at her blankly for awhile and then it registered. "Ah, I see why now."

He made his way to the door. "He's not walking around, is he?" Neji asked.

She smiled. "Iie. He should be sleeping since he came this morning." Hinata paused. "Ano… are you ok with him being here?"

Neji gave her a smile. "Of course I am. I'm just a little shocked that he's always sneaking up on us when we least expect it. One of these days he's going to walk in on us sleeping."

Hinata pouted. "Hai. But we just have to be extra careful," she said. "He said he has some gifts and stuff for us, maybe for Christmas."

"That's great," Neji said going thorough the door. He turned around. "I really am glad he's back for…"

"Until after his birthday."

"…Hai, that," Neji continued. He then walked back through the door to kneel next to Hinata, spinning her chair so she could face him. "Hiashi… Oji-san is like my own Otou-san, Hinata. Even though he did those things to us, I forgive him too." His smile then turned into a smirk. "Now I'll have to go back to calling you and Hanabi 'Itoko.'"

Hinata laughed. "And I have to call Hanabi 'Imouto.'"

Ever since they were young, Hiashi would make sure they had good manners and nearly never call each other by name. It was only after he had left that they started using their names. Even on the last visit, Hiashi had asked them to do it when with him. It seemed to make him feel as though they were a family and not just living together, he had told them.

Neji rubbed her thighs in assurance before getting up. "Well, I'm going to have a bath and something to eat," he said. "See you later, Itoko."

"Hai, Itoko," Hinata said with a laugh as he left.

One thing for sure was that this vacation was not going to be boring.

* * *

Sasuke could not keep his eyes off the crosses.

"So you like them?" asked Chokichi, waiting for Sasuke to answer since he was silently staring at the jewelry for the past two minutes without saying anything.

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the crosses in his palm. "…Hai," he said after another moment of awe.

They were more beautiful than Sasuke had imagined and he had to give Chokichi credit; the man was damned good at what he and his crew did. "They are perfect."

The jewelsmith held out his hand. "Good to know," he said. "Now for the payment."

Sasuke reached into his pocket and took out the vial of Hinata's blood and then gave it to Chokichi. "Here you go."

The man took the vial with shaking fingers and tilted the object in his hand, watching the blood inside the glass container and then opened it, letting the smell invade their senses.

He tipped his pinky on the rim, collecting just a little to taste it and sighed. "This is very good," he told Sasuke and held out his other hand. "It's been a pleasure working for you, Sasuke."

Sasuke shook his hand. "Arigatou," he replied.

"How did you manage to come across a girl such as her?" Chokichi asked, walking him to the entrance. Sasuke figured he just wanted to be nosy since he had not done it before. "It's ridiculously rare for a pureblood and mixedblood to even see each other, much less be mates."

"Her mother was a pureblood," Sasuke said. "Her father is a human."

Chokichi gasped. "Really!" he exclaimed. He shook the blood. "She certainly got most of her mother's traits, I can tell."

"Hai."

Chokichi leaned in. "I've heard about something like that," he whispered. "But we're not supposed to speak of it so freely. How do you suppose they met?"

Now that Sasuke thought about it, did Hinata even know the answer to that question?

"To be honest, I have no idea," said Sasuke as they reached the entrance and the stone rolled out of the way.

"Well you are one lucky boy," said Chokichi. "Sad to say, but I hope I never see you back here again."

Sasuke smiled, knowing the man meant that he hoped he and Hinata would stay together forever as they were supposed to and then he would not have to find another mate. "I hope so too."

He then waved as the stone rolled closed again and walked to his car. Sitting down in the driver's seat, Sasuke just stayed there, opening his closed hand to look at what he had gone through so much time for. They were worth it.

The jewels glittered in the evening light, making them sparkle and glint. Sasuke smiled as he took out the box from his pocket to put them in and then put them back as he started the car and drove off.

x

When he pulled into the driveway, Naruto came running out, flailing his arms.

"Sasuke!"

Wondering if something was wrong, Sasuke turned off the car quickly and hoped out of the car. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"You won't believe it!" Naruto yelled, pulling him to the door.

"What?"

"They left!"

"…What?"

"Kin and Karin!" Naruto told him. "They said they wanted girl time before Christmas to shop and stuff and left Itachi, Sai and me here!"

Sasuke breathed out, wondering how he could think something was wrong. "So what?" he asked the blond.

"We need some time too!" said Naruto excitedly as he continued to pull Sasuke through the house and half pushed him up the stairs to his room, where he saw clothes laid out on the bed and shoes on the floor on the mat. "I have it all sorted out and we're all waiting on you!"

It was then that Sasuke realized Naruto was dressed as though he was going out. "Sorted out?" Sasuke parroted. What the hell was Naruto going on about? "Hey! That's going too far!" he said with a raised voice as Naruto tried to undress him by tugging on the hem of his shirt and he trampled the thirst that rose through him by quickly biting his tongue.

"Then hurry!" said Naruto. "Even Itachi is coming!"

"Where are we going exactly?" asked Sasuke as he took off his shirt and jeans on his way to the bathroom, leaving the door open so Naruto could finish yell about what was happening.

"To the movies!"

"I hope we're not going to watch Bambi," Sasuke muttered, but Naruto heard him since he was sitting on the closed toilet.

"Iie! But I'm sure you'll all like it! I checked the newspaper to see what was showing!"

By the sound of Naruto's voice, Sasuke was not too sure about that.

"Go away," said Sasuke when he turned the shower off so Naruto could go outside. He stepped out and ignored the swear words being hurled at him through the door he closed after Naruto passed him his clothes.

Having finished, he went into his bedroom to see Naruto with his cell phone. "Hey, Sasuke," the blond said. "You have a text message from Hinata- don't worry I didn't read it."

Sasuke snatched the phone from his best friend anyway and shooed him away, saying he would be down in a minute.

**_Hi, Sasuke.  
You said you'd be on a little later so whenever you're ready I'll be here._**

Sasuke had forgotten that he had told Hinata he would be online but seeing as it was nearly seven, he doubted he would be back in time to do so.

He hated doing it, but he had to tell her he would not be able to talk to her. As he went down the stairs, he punched in a short message.

_**I hadn't planned for it, but I'm going out tonight to the movies so I won't be online. Gomen, I hope you're okay with it.**_

Putting his phone in his pocket and getting his shoes on, he went to the front door where the others were waiting on him, all dressed and ready with their coats on. Itachi was apparently driving since he held the keys.

Sasuke put on his coat. "Do you know what we're watching?" he asked the other two while Naruto grinned, practically jumping up and down to go out of the house.

"No idea," Itachi said. "The idiot hid all the papers."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted as he opened the door. "Don't call me that, bastard! Anyway, it's a surprise."

"And all along I thought that was your name," Itachi told Sasuke as they all walked to the car, Sai chuckling.

The car was filled with excited shouts and laughter as Naruto sang raucously to the radio while trying to tickle Sasuke and Sai- too afraid to try it with Itachi who was driving anyway. Sasuke was trying his best not to laugh and was about to get back at him when his phone rang.

"Moshi moshi?" he answered through a strained and breathless attempt not to laugh.

_"Sasuke, it's Hinata."_ his girlfriend said through the phone.

"Hey," said Sasuke, pushing Naruto away with a snort, trying to hold in his laughing. "Hey s-stop that, I'm on the phone," he hissed to Naruto playfully.

He was really enjoying himself and he had not even gotten to the destination yet. Naruto sure knew how to liven things up with his childish ways.

_"Did I catch you at a bad time?"_ Hinata asked him.

"Hehe, iie!" Sasuke said when Naruto jabbed him in the side. "I mean no, we're on our way to the movies now a-actually."

The other side was silent for a moment while Sasuke held in his snorts and chuckles. "Hey! I said I'm on the- on the phone."

_"I'll just talk to you another time,"_ Hinata said.

"O-okay, I'll talk to you later," said Sasuke and snapped his phone shut as he turned to his friend. "Naruto, you idiot!" he said, not meaning it at all. "I told you I was on the phone."

"It's boy's night out!" Naruto declared. "No phone calls, no texting!"

Sasuke rounded on Naruto and poked him back, causing the blond to scream and so they rolled around in the back seat with Sai smiling at them and the occasional glance from Itachi as he smiled as well at his idiot brother and his idiot friend.

x

"Well at least it's not another sappy movie," said Sasuke as they looked at what was showing. "Pink Panther 2 should not be too bad."

Collecting their tickets, the four of them went to their balcony seats and sat down in the highest ones by the projector.

"This is going to be great!" Naruto said as they all settled in.

"Just shut it and we will," Itachi said across Sasuke who nodded in agreement.

Naruto just pouted and then his eyes widened. "Kami! We forgot to get something to eat!"

Jumping up from his seat and pulling Sai with him, Naruto skirted around Sasuke and Itachi's legs to go back downstairs.

Itachi turned to his younger brother. "How on earth do you keep up with him?" he asked.

"To tell you the truth, I sometimes wonder about it," Sasuke said. "But I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't here to shake me up every once in a while."

Itachi gave a tiny upturn of his lips and nodded once, turning his attention to the screen that was coming to life as the lights dimmed.

Naruto and Sai came back just in time and all through the movie they really let go, laughing at almost everything, eating and drinking while throwing popcorn at the people below them, except Itachi, and it was absolutely one of the best things that had happened for the vacation.

When the credits came up Naruto, stood and, being in front of the projector, his frazzled hair showed up on the screen, not going unnoticed by him.

Naruto quickly sat down again. "Hey," he said as Sasuke and the other were about to get up. "Watch this."

He held his hand up and a rabbit showed up on the screen, making some of the stragglers both on the balcony and below laugh.

Sasuke could not help but join in as his friend entertained everyone, switching the shapes to dogs and birds…

…That is until the guards rushed to see the person doing it.

"Run!"

Sasuke and Sai's hands were grabbed and they were pulled into a sprint by Naruto, leaving Itachi to walk calmly behind them as the guards rushed past him.

Huffing, they held their knees by the car, when they ditched the muscular men and lone scrawny woman in uniform.

"That was fun," said Sai.

"Hai," Sasuke admitted.

Itachi then came walking up to the car and turned off the alarm. When they got in, they talked about all that had happened while Itachi listened.

"Hey, you know it was fun Itachi," Sasuke said. "I know you had a great time with us."

"Hai hai!"

"I admit I did have a good time," Itachi said. "The most fun I've had these past two days."

"Two days?!" screeched Naruto. "That's not fair! You're an emotionless, no-fun…person! How could you say that? That's the best time I've had for weeks!"

"It's true," said Itachi.

"Well you're a lucky guy," Sai told him and Sasuke agreed.

They decided to get something to eat before going home and by the time they did get there, it was well after twelve.

They parted at the stairs after they had some blood-- well Sai and Sasuke. Naruto had some soda and Itachi went straight up to his room and then his presence was gone to Kami-knows-where. He could sense that Kin and Karin were back.

Sasuke trudged to the bathroom to have a bath before bed and then flopped into his bed, ready to sleep. As he lay there, he figured it was strange that Hinata had not texted him or called back but she probably knew he'd be back late.

He took out his phone and decided to call her, despite the fact he was so tired.

"Moshi moshi?" Hinata answered.

"Hey," said Sasuke.

_"Who is it?"_ he heard a male say that he recognized as Neji's. _"It's Sasuke,"_ he heard her reply.

He heard Neji say he'd be back when she was done and heard the rustle of cloth, most likely sheets, and frowned. "Does he have to sleep with you every night?" he asked her.

_"Hai,"_ Hinata said in what picked up as a clipped tone. Where did that come from?

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

_"I'm fine."_

Sasuke was at a loss for what to say next; he had just wanted to hear her voice. "What do you want to talk about?"

_"You called me."_

"That's true," Sasuke said. "Are you sure you are okay?"

He heard her sigh. _"I'm just kinda sleepy. I had a lot going on today."_

"Really, like what?" Sasuke asked. He thought she was at home the whole day.

_"You are not the only person who has things going on, you know,"_ she told him.

So that is what this attitude was about.

Sasuke smiled. In her own little way, she had missed him and was angry and, dare he think it, a little jealous that he went out. Would her frown turn the other way when she saw why he had done it- the going in the morning, not going to the movies.

"Gomen," said Sasuke. "I went out for some business this morning and then as soon as I got home, Naruto and the others dragged me to the movies since Kin and Karin went out."

_"Oh…Will you be going out tomorrow as well?"_ Hinata asked him.

Now that Sasuke thought about it…

"Hai, I have more things to do tomorrow," he told her. "Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you before going to bed."

_"Ok,"_ said Hinata. _"Oyasuminasai, Sasuke."_

"Oyasuminasai, Hinata. I love you," he said.

_"I know."_

Sasuke smiled to here it in her voice that she was blushing when they hung up and rolled over. He thought about the crosses he had in his drawer and how he was going to make Christmas so much better with the plans he had.

He was both anxious and nervous about it but he was sure it would turn out great.

Sasuke turned over on his belly, flattening his pillow over his head to block out the sounds he heard coming from the other rooms. How could they have so much energy? He was so tired he could barely move!

Well, he had enjoyed himself today. It was another good day and he was glad his vacation was going like this.

It could only get better from here.

* * *

**_I think that was a nice ending for this chapter, don't you think? I enjoyed writing this chapter so much that I wrote a lot more than I had planned to so I hope you had lots of fun reading it._**

To gaara of the sand (formerly known as Zachary Andrews): I'm very happy to hear that you have an account now. I visited it to send you a PM to help you get your fic started but there was nothing there so I couldn't. I'm not sure how to sort that out so ask someone near you to help and then get back to me and I'll be glad to assist you further.

If you have not read Hina hime or A Happy Ending (Being updated next weekend), please do.

Until next update…

Ja ne!

Please review, I love it when you do!


	32. Christmas Eve

**_Hi there readers! I'm feeling a lot better this week even though my back still kinda hurts. I felt a little nauseous from trying to read in the bus and that never goes too well and I was very busy all weekend (which, by the way, was not over when I started to write) but it's all good. I'm giving you a longer chapter to make up for last week._**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

* * *

**__**

Chapter 32: Christmas Eve

---------  
**_  
_**Christmas Eve was always a rush, and who better to know that than Hinata?

Yes, it was Christmas Eve and although Hinata was angry with Sasuke, she was in the city mall searching for a gift for him. She had no idea what to get him. She searched almost every store there was and found nothing she could say Sasuke would like.

She saw the way he tossed out the gifts he got from other girls at school and she didn't want hers to suddenly go suspiciously missing one day.

Neji and Hanabi were with her, the latter very hyper about getting to shop for whatever she wanted. Hiashi had given them a credit card each to buy anything they wanted with them and, apparently, they had no limit for Hanabi was struggling with many bags, having Neji and Hinata hold some of them until Neji finally put his foot down.

"Just because Oji-san says you can buy whatever you want, it doesn't mean you can buy the entire place," Neji said, quite irritated. "You're going to find one more thing to buy and that's it. I know you've already bought things for your friends."

Hanabi pouted and grumbled, but she listened and Hinata had to thank Kami for giving Neji such a commanding voice because if Hinata had told her sister not to buy anything else, there would have been a riot.

They decided to buy their stuff together and then they would later split up to buy gifts for each other and for anyone else they did not want the other to know about.

Both Neji and Hinata had gotten things of their own. Neji had bought gifts for Lee and TenTen, Gaara and Shikamaru and Hinata had bought a gorgeous pair of sapphire earrings for Ino that she knew the blonde would love. She even bought Sakura a pair of boots she know she would literally kill for.

Hanabi had bought so many gifts that Hinata had lost track of what was for whom a long time ago. They had all bought something for Hiashi with Hinata buying him a watch, Hanabi buying him cufflinks and Neji buying him a tie with a gold tie chain.

"Ok," said Hanabi, sniffing and rubbing her nose. "Can we split up now? I really have to go to the bathroom."

"Do you have allergies or something, Hanabi?" asked Hinata. "You've been snorting quite a lot lately."

Hanabi fidgeted a little. "Yeah, I don't know what's going on."

Hinata saw Neji scrutinizing the girl and tugged him away. "Hai, we'll split up now. Get something for your allergies!"

"I will!"

When Hanabi was lost among the crowd, Hinata looked at Neji. "Why were you looking at her like that?" she asked him.

"She's been acting very strange lately," said Neji. "She's always sniffing and rubbing her nose but never sneezes, running to the bathroom regularly, and sometimes she's so spaced out, she doesn't even know you're there."

Now that Hinata thought about it, Hanabi was behaving different compared to before. "But she's just a teenager, Neji," Hinata told him.

"_We're_ teens too, Hinata," Neji said. "We don't act that way."

"So what are you saying?" asked Hinata after nearly being run over by a mob of people.

"I'm saying that she's not right somehow. Ever since she has been into that boy in her class-Konohamaru- she's been like this," said Neji. "She's dodged almost all the questions we asked about that sleepover."

Hinata took his hand to avoid getting carried away in the other direction. "Just wait a little and see what happens."

Neji nodded and they continued walking until they decided to go their separate ways.

Hinata felt as though she had walked off the map in the mall looking for the perfect gift for Sasuke and after another hour of searching all the floors and almost every store, she figured she needed to go somewhere else.

She went to a bench to sit and rest her feet when she got a text message. Speak of the devil, it was Sasuke.

_**R u going 2 b online 2night?**_

Hinata bit her lip as she replied.

**_I can't. I have lots of stuff to do today. Gomen, I'll talk 2 u 2morrow._**

And she was not lying. She had been in the city since nine in the morning and it was after one now. Then when she got home, she had all the presents she bought to wrap and help Hanabi and Neji wrap theirs, and then decorate the tree as was custom on Christmas Eve.

Her phone vibrated in her hand as she was reaching for her bottled water. Taking a sip, she read the message.

**_Will u be coming over 2morrow?_**

She would have to see how things went, but she was sure she would be able to. She had told her father she was going over to Ino's afterwards and that she may sleep over. What she didn't tell him was that she was just going to drop off Ino's gift and planned to head over to Sasuke's.

_**Hai, I'll be there.**_

Hinata looked around for awhile as she waited for Sasuke to respond when she took in the sign of the store right in front of her. She was sure Sasuke would appreciate her gift. She looked at the phone.

_**Drop by before 6:30.**_

She quickly shoved the phone in her pocket and put the water back as she skipped to the store and through the entrance. Looking through the glass, she saw that she would definitely leave with something.

"Hi there," came a voice from behind her and Hinata turned around to see a pretty girl chewing gum, her blonde hair in a messy bun smiling at her. "My name is Yori, how may I assist you?"

Hinata smiled shyly back at her. "I'm looking to buy something for my boyfriend," she said.

"What do you have in mind?" Yori asked her as she stepped behind the display. Hinata was glad the girl had put some distance between them; she had not had blood since morning and lately she was craving blonde blood since she bit Ino.

"I saw the sign outside. Is that offer still up?" Hinata asked.

"Hai," the blonde said nodding. "You just tell me what you have in mind and I'll have it for you in an hour."

"Arigatou, that's great," said Hinata. "I think I know what he would like."

Yori took a notebook and pen from under the counter and poised herself to write. "What do you have in mind?"

"Something simple," said Hinata. "He's not the type that would like something loud or anything that attracts attention. I was thinking something like…"

* * *

Christmas Eve could not be any more boring for Sasuke, or so he thought. The maids had already been in to clean up and now they were all decorating the house by stringing up lights and mistletoe and getting the tree ready.

"Don't you just love Christmas?!" asked Naruto, already way into the spirit for any going back.

"Hn."

"You know you enjoy it," said Naruto as they were putting up the lights. Everyone had agreed to do various things, with Sasuke and Naruto getting the lights up since it would be too messy if he did anything else.

"I wonder what Karin got for me," said Naruto, who was on the ladder. Sasuke was holding it and they had agreed this way neither of them would end up in the hospital for Christmas unless Naruto lost his balance on his own accord. "I got her a dead _sexy_ dress," he whispered down, not wanting the redhead to hear him.

"Please don't tell me it's orange," Sasuke said exasperated because he knew the answer already.

"Hai! But only some of it, the rest is black."

Sasuke could not complain about that. He just hoped Karin had ridiculous taste like her boyfriend.

"What did you get for Hinata?" Naruto asked for the umpteenth time.

"I have something planned," was all Sasuke told him every time.

He felt really guilty about what had happened before with him being busy and knew Hinata was not happy about it. She said she would not be online but he would call her later to see how she was going. He had something wonderful set out for the two of them and he hoped it would make Hinata happy.

Sasuke was so deep in thought that he had not heard Naruto say he was ready to climb down and before he could react properly, Naruto was wobbling two steps down and about to fall.

"Ah! Sasuke keep the ladder steady!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed onto said ladder as though his life depended on it which was not the case; just a few bones remaining intact.

"I'm trying!" Sasuke yelled back. "But you're moving too much!"

Before Naruto could retort, he came tumbling down in one big crash.

Sasuke groaned from the weight and thirst stifling him as his nose tickled from the mop of blond hair. Naruto sat up and pointed at Sasuke's face.

"Teme! I could have broken something!"

Sasuke knew Naruto expected an apology. "Gomen."

"That's all you have to say?!" Naruto shouted, poking him in the chest. Sasuke could feel his thirst mounting and he had to get Naruto off him now. "It's a good thing you broke my fall or I would have beaten your ass if I was hurt!"

"Naruto, get off me," Sasuke said as calmly as he was able, he could feel his eyes starting to change and his teeth raking on the edge of his lip. He looked down at the hand jabbing his chest and stared at the wrist, almost feeling the pulse behind the purple bruise.

"Iie!" contradicted Naruto, seemingly not realizing what was happening to Sasuke. "I'm not done talking to you."

"I'm serious," said Sasuke. "Get _off_."

"Iie!"

Sasuke threw everything to the wind and grabbed Naruto's wrist, catching the blond off guard.

"_Oh crap!_" he heard Naruto say from far away.

His mind became hazy as he brought the wrist towards his mouth without a struggle, his teeth grazing the flesh.

Sasuke closed his eyes as his edged teeth pierced the skin and he heard a swear word from above him but he did not register it for he was tasting new fresh blood.

It was some of the best he'd tasted and Sasuke found himself drinking even after he was satisfied.

"_Sasuke you can stop now_," he heard, but just continued, his body heating up as he pulled the source closer, dragging them by the waist. It was so good that Sasuke hoped it would never end, but as always, you can't have everything.

His thirst was ripped away in a beat and he was left panting as he stared up at Naruto, who had his two fingers on his wrist.

"You can't expect to drain me," the blond said. "Karin needs some too."

"Get off me," said Sasuke shoving Naruto aside, feeling his body had not calmed down. He almost felt sick now, knowing Karin had bitten Naruto's wrist as well.

"Some way to thank me," said Naruto. "I could have stopped you but no, I was the nice best friend and offered blood to you."

"I didn't ask for it," Sasuke said.

"But you took it anyway."

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Whatever. I can't help that," he said, feeling a little embarrassed as his cheeks warmed involuntarily.

"It's ok," Naruto assured him. "I know how Karin gets sometimes and you don't have Hinata here right now, so it was the least I could do."

"Arigatou," said Sasuke almost gratefully, sighing when he was back to normal. Getting aroused from sucking Naruto's blood was far too weird.

Sasuke watched as Naruto got up and took his hand to get up, only to be dragged up roughly.

"But don't think I'm still not mad at you!" Naruto said loudly, nearly popping Sasuke's eardrums and his hand from the socket. "First you nearly make me break my neck and then you try to drain me!"

"Hey, what's all the racket about?"

Both Sasuke and Naruto turned around to see Karin with a spatula in hand the other catching the drops of icing from it with Kin coming up behind her.

"Nothing much," said Naruto, waving in a dismissing manner, but Karin narrowed her eyes at him.

"What's wrong with your wrist?" she asked him. "Did Sasuke bite you?"

"Hai," Naruto said. "I fell on him."

Kin sighed and made to go back into the kitchen. "Just be careful," she said. "Come on, Karin, the icing is getting hard."

Karin waved at them, splattering Sasuke with icing and blew a kiss at Naruto. "See you later!"

Naruto winked at her and then turned to Sasuke, who was wiping his face. "What's next?" he asked.

"We're going to help Sai decorate the tree since Itachi left not too long ago," Sasuke said.

Naruto bounced all the way to the living room where Sai was carefully placing the glass decorations on the tree and Sasuke had to wonder if Naruto helping was a good idea.

It was not that bad though by the annual standards. Naruto had only broken a few of the little glass decorations and broke the arm off the angel- thank goodness they still had the one from last year.

Karin had only burnt one of the cakes and Kin had slipped on something that had spilled while Sai had to pry a piece of glass from the bottom of his foot because the glass pieces from the broken balls had not been cleaned up entirely.

Sasuke? He had not suffered much. Naruto had been a little too enthusiastic and it resulted in the tree toppling over right on top of Sasuke, who had been on the other side.

That wasn't the worst and the thing was that he was just caught in the crossfire of everything. Naruto had laughed and teased Karin when she burned some of the cookies and she aimed at him with a Spork, nearly skewering Sasuke in the process.

Next was the putting up of the mistletoe and Sasuke had agreed to stand on a chair to put them up in various points in the house. That idea was not a bright one, Sasuke realized, after he'd been knocked flat on his behind as Karin and Naruto tried to be the first the christen all the mistletoe first.

It was official. He would find a way to lock up the crazy couple the next time a holiday came around.

x

In the end, Sasuke was glad when it was all over and he was lying in bed at two in the morning exhausted. He rolled over and looked at his phone wearily. Sasuke really wanted to call Hinata but he was so tired he was sure he would fall asleep while talking to her.

With a sigh, Sasuke hit the speed dial button and waited for his girlfriend to answer.

_"Moshi moshi?"_

"Hey," said Sasuke. "You're not busy right?"

He could hear what sounded like paper rustling. _"Iie, I'm just finishing up wrapping some presents before I go to bed,"_ Hinata said. _"Ah, all done!"_

"That's good," Sasuke said. "So how was your day?"

_"Hectic,"_ Hinata told him. _"I went to the mall with Neji and Hanabi and then came home and helped sort things out."_

He could hear Hinata sounded as tired as he did and decided to keep it short, but as all things that was happening for his time awake, it had not turned out that way for Hinata had other plans.

_"Why?"_ she asked after a moment of silence.

"Why what?" asked Sasuke.

_"You were laughing and so happy when I called you, but you've never been that way with me."_

Sasuke was a little speechless for a while before he spoke again to answer her. "I am happy when I'm with you, Hinata."

_"Iie, not like that,"_ Hinata argued. He then heard a whispered _'I'm on the phone with Sasuke'_ before she continued. "_Did you really go to the movies with Naruto and the others?"_

"Nani?" asked Sasuke. "Where's that coming from?"

_"I'm saying that you don't act like that with me and I've never seen you like that even with Naruto because you always shove him away,"_ Hinata said.

"Are you trying to ask me what I think you are?" Sasuke asked her in disbelief.

_"Maybe I am, Sasuke,"_ Hinata snapped.

"What the hell, Hinata. Do you really think I'd cheat on you?" Sasuke said. "I'd never go anywhere with some other girl. You see me turn them down almost every day!"

_"But you've been so distant lately. Never talking to me for longer than two minutes, not coming online, and texting me just to disappoint me every time these past few days,"_ Hinata said, with her voice raised.

Sasuke could not believe what he was hearing. All this time, he'd been planning something for them and if this continued, all that effort would cost him his relationship with Hinata. He breathed deeply. "Hinata, listen to me, there's no way I'd do anything like that. I love you."

_"So did the last person I got myself involved with…or so he said."_

There was a very long pause after that statement until Sasuke spoke again in a tired tone. "I don't know where you're getting these notions from, but I swear I would never hurt you like that," he said.

"I'm telling you the truth, Hinata. I had some business to deal with and then Naruto and the others decided to go to the movies. We watched Pink Panther 2, got something to eat, and came home."

_"…Okay, Gomen."_

Sasuke knew Hinata was still a little cautious because of what had happened with Naruto but he hoped he could make up for it. He hoped she would understand when she came over later, since it was technically Christmas already.

After that little argument, the conversation was a lot lighter and Sasuke found himself talking to Hinata for another hour, sleep slowly invading his mind. Before he knew it, both he and Hinata were talking utter gibberish while trying to stay awake until he was talking to himself.

"Hinata," he said drowsily. His eyes had been closed for the past half hour and refused to open. "Are you sleeping?"

He got no reply.

"Hn… well I'll see you tomorrow then," he drawled, partly aware she could not hear him. All he could hear was soft breathing sounds from her side.

"Merry Christmas, Hinata," Sasuke whispered. "See you later."

* * *

**_I thought I would not have been able to get this to you tonight, but I did it as late as it is. Sorry if something like format is not right: for instance the first line, I tried to geet it back to normal as best I could after FF chewed it up.  
I think that was a good place to end the chapter and I hope you think so too. I really liked this, and thought it was nice and light before all the heavy stuff to come soon._**

__

**__**

If you have not read Hina hime or A Happy Ending please do.

Until next update…

Ja ne!

Please review, I love it when you do!


	33. A Christmas to Remember

**_Hi readers! I was not sick or anything this weekend. I went out for the entire weekend so I couldn't get any writing in and that's why this chapter is late BUT I'll make it extra long to make up for that k? Over 9000 words!  
Would you believe I went to review a chapter-when I should have been writing- and I reviewed this fic by mistake? Just don't think I'm crazy if you see it lol!_**

Excuse any errors and R&R!!!

* * *

**__**

Chapter 33: A Christmas to Remember

------------

Hinata woke up bright and early Thursday morning.

Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, she looked around the room to find that Neji was not there. Well, that made sense seeing as it was Christmas and her father could come waltzing through her door at any given moment.

Hinata hopped out of bed with that thought, knocking something to the floor.

It was Christmas.

The smile that she wore could have brightened her entire room as she looked to see what had been on the floor. It was a box and opening it, she saw a beautiful dress and another box with shoes, she assumed. She looked on the tag and saw that her father had left it there for her.

Hinata

I thought of you when I saw this dress. Merry Christmas. See you downstairs to get your other gifts.

Otou-san

Hugging the dress, she ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror. It was lucky of Neji to think ahead and sleep in his room after all.

It was very cute indeed. A little red and white vintage dress that would fall to her knees when she put it on. The top was plain white with spaghetti straps, a red band that would be under her breasts, and then the bottom was a pretty print of red leaves and flowers on white.

Jumping in the bath, Hinata had a bath and hurried to get ready before she put the dress on and then the shoes. Those were cute as well. Little red wedged pumps, with half a flower on the inner side and when Hinata put her toes together, it formed a complete flower.

_"Kawaii!"_

Hinata stared at herself in the bathroom mirror as she made up her face for the special day and then pulled her hair into a high bun, some stray ends falling at her neck, her usual fringe on her forehead. When she was done, she was rather pleased and all but ran downstairs to find everyone already there.

"We've gotten so accustomed to your waking up at dawn that even on Christmas we can't sleep in," said Neji, who was looking rather nice in his button down maroon shirt and black slacks.

"Merry Christmas, Aneko!" said Hanabi, who was wearing the long-sleeved version of her dress in blue. The younger girl looked a lot better this morning and made Hinata realized that Hanabi had changed lately and now she could see it. "Come open your presents with us!"

Hinata grinned and went over to open her gifts.

Neji hugged her from behind. "Thanks for the iPod. It was really nice of you.

"Hai! I just love my perfume," said Hanabi. "It smells like heaven."

"And I love my watch," said Hiashi outstretching his hand to show her.

Hinata took up her pile of gifts. Neji had gotten her a new phone, Hanabi got her a pair of earrings that she put in right away, and Hiashi got her a laptop.

"There's something else as well," said Hiashi. "I didn't want to tell you until I was sure, but I am now."

"What is it?" asked Hinata.

"Before I came here, I had some people do some work for me," said Hiashi. "I had one of our maids followed under suspicions. It turns out Nikato, one of our maids, is part of the Hitomi clan."

The room fell silent; Hanabi had even turned off her mp4 player that was blasting against her right ear drum.

"They probably thought I would not remember her, but I did," said Hiashi. "It appears to me that she was sent to keep an eye on you."

Hinata took in all the information quickly. She knew she had seen that woman before, recognized her name.

"Why would the clan want me followed?" asked Hinata. "They wanted to make sure I didn't remember anything about them."

"You are Naomi, your Obaa-san's granddaughter," Hiashi answered. "She is the leader of the clan, her daughter's blood was just as thick as hers and yours almost is."

Hinata looked across at Neji to see if he could figure out where her father was going with this. "I don't see what-"

"I don't either," Hiashi interrupted, obviously annoyed that her daughter was being watched. "But I do have the location of the clan."

He took out a piece of paper and gave it to Hinata. "I don't know what will happen when you get there, but if Naomi is having you trailed, it must mean something."

Hinata took the paper and looked at it. The clan was on the border of Mizugakure, a village that was said to be hidden. The map seemed very complicated and could easily make you lose sense of direction, she saw. The twists and turns led to a large red dot that was labeled 'The Red Gate.' It was good that Sasuke would be going with her.

"I'll go as soon as I can," said Hinata, almost crumpling the paper from remembering what her grandmother had done. "I have some questions for her that need answers."

Hiashi smiled. "You've really changed," he said, then looked at the others. "You all have."

*

The morning was spent eating a very filling breakfast- Hinata had her wrist and Neji's.

After that, Hiashi watched as they spent time with getting their gifts together. Hanabi by putting music on her mp3, Neji doing the same for his iPod, and Hinata chatting on her laptop as she programmed her phone by getting all her contacts in order.

Hinata, glad that she didn't have to go up to her room to chat now, stayed in the living room with the others as she talked to Sasuke for quite some time.

**Flames_13: So ur father got u a laptop? Neji got his Porsche sent 2 the auto valet, Hanabi an mp4 and still got u other things like expensive clothes, and before that, let you all go on a shopping spree?**

**Candyapple_7: hai.**

**Flames_13: Well he must b a busy man all year to b able 2 do all that. My parents get Itachi and me what we want, but ur father went all out 4 u guys.**

Sasuke and Itachi both got a new car of their own. Sasuke's gift to Naruto was his old car, Naruto had given him an orange shirt he swore he would wear only once sometime to please his best friend. Itachi and Sasuke swapped the cars they had gotten and called that a day. He had not told about the others.

**Candyapple_7: I suppose he's trying make up for how he has been in the past.**

**Flames_13: hai. What time r u coming over? It's 3 right now.**

Hinata looked to the bottom right corner of the screen and saw that it was indeed that time.

**Candyapple_7: I'll leave now. I didn't realize it was so l8. I have 2 drop by Ino's first and then I'll be over, k?**

**Flames_13: c u l8r then.**

**Candyapple_7: cya**

**Flames_13: Bring over some clothes.**

**Candyapple_7: wat?**

**Flames_13: I'm not repeating myself. Scroll back 2 wat I said.**

Why would he want her to bring over extra clothes for?

**Canyapple_7: Why?**

**Flames_13: aren't u staying over night?**

**Candyapple_7: Oh yeaaaah ok.**

**Flames_13: k bye**

**Flames_13: AWAY**

**Candyapple_7: OFFLINE**

Hinata signed out and shut the laptop, getting up from sitting on the couch.

"Otou-san," she said, getting her father's attention. "I'm going to go over to Ino's now, ok?"

Hiashi nodded. "Sure go ahead," he said. "When will you be back?"

She hadn't thought about that. "I'm not sure but I'll let you know."

"Be back by Friday night."

Well that settled when she would be back home.

"Alright," said Hinata as she went upstairs to get a bag packed with the things she would need, including Sasuke's gift.

When she got back, Neji stood up. "I'll take you there," he said.

She had told him what she was planning to do and he offered to take her instead of her father. Because then she would have to ask Sasuke to pick her up from Ino's and then Ino's parents might ask questions that could get back to her father.

It wasn't that she was hiding her relationship with Sasuke from her father, but she doubted he would be happy his sixteen year old daughter was sleeping over at her boyfriend's house. Hinata preferred that they meet properly before she allowed him to know Sasuke was her future mate.

"Ja!" Hinata told Hiashi and Hanabi.

"See ya, Aneko!"

"See you when you return."

Hinata and Neji went to the door and put on their coats and then left to go to the spotless car that looked like new.

"You never told me why you're going over to Sasuke's," said Neji after a while on the road.

"You never told me what's going on between you and Tenten," Hinata replied.

"She likes me," Neji said shortly.

"And?"

"I don't know."

"Hn."

"Oh no, Sasuke's rubbing off on you, isn't he?" said Neji, with a glance in her direction.

Hinata grinned at him.

"And you still haven't gotten the rid of Naruto's grin either."

"Well that was the best thing about Naruto," said Hinata. "If I keep the smile, it's good enough for me."

"So Sasuke's bad attitude is the best thing about him?" asked Neji with a smirk.

"He's only that way sometimes," said Hinata with a laugh. "He's really shy and sweet but he hides it."

"Heh! Sasuke shy and sweet?" asked Neji with a chuckle. "I'll believe that when he admits it to my face."

They were silent for awhile and Hinata just watched the familiar scenery flicker by.

"Be careful, alright?" Neji said, not taking his eyes from the road.

Hinata looked at him. "What do you mean?" she asked him.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about," said Neji. "I'm telling you to be careful. You'll be in a house of vampires until Friday."

Hinata kept quiet, biting her lip.

Not long after that, Neji pulled into Ino's driveway and parked. "Go drop the gift off, I'll wait."

Putting her bag in the backseat, Hinata nodded and got out, shutting the door, and then went to the front door that was decorated with a large wreath. Knocking, she heard someone coming to open the door.

Thirst instantly rushed through Hinata as she was nearly tackled to the floor by Ino.

"Hina! Merry Christmas!"

"Ino, the thirst," Hinata whispered as Ino tried to crush her with a hug, and the blonde let go quickly when she heard that. Hinata noticed Ino couldn't keep her eyes from drifting over her and bit her lip from the attention.

"Gomen! I forgot all about that," Ino whispered back. "Come in!"

Ino made sure not to touch Hinata as she walked ahead of her to the where her parents and brother were.

"Merry Christmas," said Hinata shyly.

Everyone looked up.

"Merry Christmas," Mr. and Mrs. Yamanaka said. The younger blond of the three got up and rushed to Hinata.

"Hey there! Merry Christmas, Hina!" said Deidara, Ino's brother, who almost looked like her best friend.

Hinata blushed as he hugged her, remembering when she had a crush on him before Naruto. She was around eleven at the time, but she could still remember her plans with Ino to marry him so they could be sisters.

Deidara held her by the shoulders, looking her up and down. "Wow, Hina. You've really grown, yeah? Last time I saw you, you were drowning in that favorite jacket of yours."

Hinata smiled and nodded, her eyes to the floor.

"Still shy, I see," said Deidara. "Oh well. How are you?"

"I'm fine," said Hinata. "What about you?"

"I'm always good, yeah. Even though I have to put up with my brat of a sister," said Deidara, who was instantly rapped on the head.

"Don't say that about your sister," said Inorai with a soft glare, before she turned and smiled sweetly at Hinata. "Hina, do you want something to eat?"

"Iie, I'm just dropping off Ino's gift," said Hinata.

"Nani? You didn't get me anything, Hina?" asked Deidara.

Hinata stammered. "I didn't know you would have been back."

"That's true," said Deidara. "I got you something though. Can't forget cute little Hina, ne?"

Deidara let go of Hinata to go by the tree and came back. "I know you like art so I got you some art supplies."

Hinata looked at the box warily, causing the oldest male in the room to chuckle. "Don't worry, Hinata," said Inoichi. "I made sure they wouldn't blow up."

Deidara pouted. "He made me by 'normal' stuff," said Deidara. He bent to her level. "But if you ever want to blow up anything, you let me know, yeah?" he whispered with a wink.

"I will and I'll be sure to get you something, Deidara," said Hinata and hugged him again.

Deidara let her go, turning her by the shoulders to face Ino, who was bouncing on the spot.

"So what did you get me, Hina?" the blonde asked excitedly with her hands behind her back.

Hinata held out the small box to Ino and took one from her.

Ino opened her present and squealed. "Oh Kami! Hina! These are beautiful, they must have cost you so much!"

"It's nothing," said Hinata. "I knew you'd like them."

"Like them? I love them!" Ino gushed and hugged Hinata briefly, knowing she couldn't for long. "You're the best friend ever!"

Hinata opened her box, seeing a silver anklet with half a heart and grinned at Ino. "Arigatou, Ino. It's so pretty."

"It's for us," said Ino, bending to lift the leg of her jeans up to show Ino was wearing a similar anklet with the other half of the heart. "I have one almost like it, but yours is real. Look at it closely."

Hinata took it out and saw that the little charm said 'BFF'.

"That's not all," said Ino, holding out her other hand. "Here you go."

Hinata took the gift and unwrapped it to see it was an album. Opening it, she saw photos of the two of them she had not even known were taken when they were younger and some recent ones as well. She flipped the hard pages to see all the fun they'd had over the years together.

This time, Hinata hugged Ino on her own after biting her tongue. "These are really great, Ino. I love them."

"That's not all either," Ino added and Hinata wondered what else Ino could have for her as she allowed Ino to lead her up the stairs with the others going back to what they had been doing. "We're going to get more photos!" she said to her parents and brother.

Ino took Hinata to her bedroom and shut the door, locking it as well.

"Ino, what are you doing?" asked Hinata as she watched Ino roll up the sleeve of her green turtle neck shirt.

Ino held her wrist out. "I think the best gift I can give you is that you can have my blood whenever you need it," she said, surprising Hinata.

Hinata could feel her heart rate sped up at the offer and stared at Ino's wrist. "Are you sure?" she asked the blonde, who nodded.

"I'm sure," said Ino then she looked away. "I'm not doing it because I like you. I'm offering you because you're my best friend and I want to help."

Hinata did not need to hear anymore. She stepped forward, her mark surfacing as she noted Ino had not moved. The thought made her smile, her teeth lengthening to fangs.

In one swift moment Ino was pushed back onto the bed and Hinata crawled over her, straddling her lap as she took the blonde's wrist. "Arigatou," said Hinata, before sinking her teeth into the flesh, savoring the familiar taste as she drank, careful not to drain the girl under her.

Feeling her mark fade away, Hinata's senses fully went back to normal as she stared down at the panting girl beneath her and felt what she assumed was a smirk appear.

"Are you sure you're not enjoying this as much as I do?" asked Hinata as she licked her lips. She rolled off Ino to sit at the edge of the bed, noticing one of her shoes had come off.

Ino looked up at her. "I am," she confirmed. "Every bit of it. But that's because I know you like it even more."

Hinata put on her shoe and stood up, pulling Ino up with her. "I'm so happy with my gifts," she said. "And I'm glad you like mine too, but I really have to go, it's getting late."

"Ok. Are you going home now then?" asked Ino, as they walked down the stairs.

"Actually no," said Hinata, slowing her steps. "I'm going over to Sasuke's."

"Ah," said Ino with a grin. "Want me to cover for you?"

Hinata smiled. "Of course. Arigatou, Ino."

"I know how fathers are," said Ino. "You've had to cover for me lots of times when I went sneaking around with Chouji and now that your father's back, I doubt he'll want to know you're off at your boyfriend's house."

When they got downstairs, Hinata said goodbye to everyone.

"I'll walk her to the door," said Ino as she gave Hinata her gifts that had been left in the chair, but Deidara jumped up as well.

"Me too, yeah!"

Sated, Hinata hugged Ino. "Merry Christmas again," she said and did the same for Deidara.

"You know," said Deidara. "You're really something now, extremely different from when last I saw you. Even Ino likes you."

Hinata blushed and looked at Ino, who was now glaring daggers at her brother. It was nice to know she was close enough to him to tell him her secrets.

"I can remember when you used to hide under that bulky jacket of yours," he said. "You wouldn't have a boyfriend, would you?"

"Hai," Hinata shyly said with a nod.

Deidara sighed. "That's such a pity," he said. "Ino would have had to fight me for you if you didn't."

Hinata's cheeks blossomed at the comment, but Ino pulled her away from Deidara and pushed her down the stairs. "Alright, it's time to go now!"

Ino took her all the way to the car, ignoring Deidara's shouts and then opened the door for her to get in. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, Hina," she said, waving to Neji. "And he'd have to lock me up and drug me senseless to get to you first."

Hinata giggled and took the parcel from the backseat to hold it in her lap with Ino and Deidara's gifts, as Neji started the car and shifted to reverse.

"See you soon," said Hinata as she waved to both Ino and Deidara on the porch.

"Bai bai!"

Neji sped off down the road and onto the highway on the way to Sasuke's.

"What was all of that about?" he asked. "I didn't expect you to take that long."

"Gomen," said Hinata. "I was talking to Ino and stuff, we exchanged presents- Deidara got me something, I have to get him a gift- and then Ino let me bite her."

"Ino let you bite her?" asked Neji. "Willingly?"

"Hai, she said that I can have blood when I want," said Hinata. "It's part of my present for Christmas."

Hinata told him about what else she had gotten as well and then she checked her face in the mirror as they neared Sasuke's street, putting on more lipgloss and making sure her hair was still fine. Then she reached over to put on the anklet Ino had given her, the half-heart dangling happily over the arch of her foot.

She noticed Neji's smirk but he didn't say anything about it as they came to a stop. There was nothing wrong with wanting to look your best for your boyfriend.

"Here we are," her cousin said, leaning across to kiss her on the cheek. "Have fun."

"Arigatou, Itoko," said Hinata, the habit now seasoned in. "You too."

Hinata got out and shut the door, waving to Neji as she left with a beep of this horn as his farewell, and walked up to the door to ring the doorbell, Sasuke's gift in the backpack she brought along.

* * *

Sasuke woke up Christmas morning in a bad mood.

Why?

Naruto had made it his business to wake him up _before_ dawn to allow him the knowledge of knowing that it was Christmas day.

He had looked at the clock to see that he had only gotten one hour of sleep and made it _his_ business to hit Naruto on the head and shove him off the bed to allow him to know 'he needed his fucking sleep' after calling the blond an 'inconsiderate ass'.

Therefore, another hour later, Sasuke woke up feeling extra grumpy. He went straight to Naruto and demanded fresh blood for waking him up and at least that had made him feel a little better afterwards.

Sasuke had wondered why the girls had been preparing food, but he had not thought much about it, until the doorbell rang and five people walked through the door, clapping him on the back and hugging with a 'Merry Christmas'.

What were they doing there?

Apparently, no one had bothered to tell him his parents were coming over and his aunts and uncles as well, who brought them gifts and stayed for lunch.

It didn't matter that only his mother, his aunt, and uncle ate as the others watched while drinking blood from wine glasses. It was tolerable… for everyone but Sasuke.

He didn't want to seem mean, but he wanted them to hurry and leave so that when Hinata came over, no questions would be asked. If they stayed for a long time they would only ruin his plans and make everything difficult.

Lucky for Sasuke, they did leave not too long after that and he waved happier than he was before as they drove away. The presents they had left had not been so bad. A new car, watch, and some new clothes were fine with him; never mind that after they left, he and Itachi agreed to swap cars. He had gotten a black BMW 3-series, while Itachi had gotten a red 1999 Mustang GT and they agreed theirs had suited the other more and exchanged.

After that, Sasuke brought his laptop downstairs to have a chat with Hinata while Naruto put in a DVD for the occasion, 'Elf' to which he raucously laughed at every couple of minutes so much that he was hoarse at the end of it.

Of course, no Christmas was that without a mishap or two. At least this time, Sasuke was not found with the short end of the stick too much because Sai, who had been minding his own business, got it when Kin came back from the kitchen to trip over the carpet and land, not-too-gracefully on him, resulting in Sai having a black eye.

Next it was Naruto, who fell over the back of the couch when a bird somehow got in the house and he sprained his finger. Then big, bad Itachi chased it outside with one of his crows. After the pain had cooled down, he started to sing along to 'Grandma got run over by a reindeer' a little too enthusiastically, which ended with Sasuke threatening to run _him_ over for being so loud.

Now, Sasuke was sitting in the living room staring blankly at his laptop waiting for Hinata to arrive. He was so nervous he could hear his heart beating in his ears as he chewed on his tongue.

"You should calm down," said Itachi from the seat next to him. "I can practically feel your heart beating and stop biting on your tongue, the scent is everywhere."

Glaring at his older brother, Sasuke didn't answer, but took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair as his other hand pulled his silk dress shirt from his chest. Maybe Itachi was right, he was just being silly.

Suddenly, there was a ring of the doorbell and Sasuke nearly fainted from the shock of hearing it. "That's probably Hinata," he said.

Standing smoothly, he walked towards the door, opening it.

If his blood had been rushing before, it was absolutely boiling now.

Sasuke stared unblinkingly at his girlfriend who was standing on his threshold; hands clasped in front her holding a backpack, only to push her breasts towards him invitingly.

How could someone look so adorably cute but yet so delicious at the same time?

"Merry Christmas, Sasuke."

Sasuke blinked away the dry feeling from having not moved his eyes and smiled at her. "Merry Christmas," he replied weakly. "Come in," he offered when his brain started to grind into function again.

Sucking on his tongue that had been brutally bitten before, Sasuke stepped aside to let her through the door, noting that they would have to leave soon. He would just let her say hello to the others, he decided, as he told her to leave the backpack by the door.

"I see you brought your things," he said to her as they walked back to where the others were.

"Hai," was Hinata's reply as she smiled at him.

It took all of Sasuke's self control not to jump her right there.

When they got in the living room, a hush passed over everyone seated there and then Naruto was the first to break the ice.

"Damn, Hinata! You're looking hot!"

Sasuke wanted to rush over to his blond friend and give him two of the best punches he could give him, but Karin beat him to it.

"Naruto, you idiot!" she said loudly. "Don't be disrespectful!"

Sasuke wondered if he meant to him, Hinata, or to her.

"Aww, Karin," said Naruto as he nursed his head, reminding Sasuke of when Sakura would do the same thing. "I was just being friendly."

"Merry Christmas, Hinata," said Sai above the noise. "It's nice to see you."

"Merry Christmas," said Hinata. "To all of you."

The others replied as well.

"Well we'll be going now," said Sasuke after all the greetings were over.

"Going where?" asked Itachi with a raised eyebrow.

Sasuke could tell Naruto had been itching to ask that question.

"Out."

Sasuke grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled the stuttering girl back to the front door, where he took up Hinata's bag and his car keys.

"Where are we going?" asked Hinata as they walked to the car.

"You'll see," said Sasuke.

The ride was filled with comfortable conversation as the two talked about their preparations for Christmas and Sasuke was glad that he and Hinata were back on speaking terms.

"This car is really nice," said Hinata.

"Yeah, it is," Sasuke said and proceeded to tell her about how he came to owning it.

*

It was a fairly long ride into the country and he could feel Hinata's anxiousness rising, realizing what Itachi had been talking about, every turn making her heartbeat jolt as though expecting to see where their destination was.

Fortunately for her, it didn't take much longer as Sasuke spotted the little cabin by the lake. He pulled up in front of the cabin and turned off the car, looking to his right. "We're here," he announced.

Hinata looked through the windscreen to look at the wooden cabin then at Sasuke.

"I rented it for us," Sasuke explained as he took Hinata's hand. "I just wanted to spend some time alone with you for once. That's okay, right?"

"That's so sweet of you." Hinata nodded, her shy demeanor shining through. "It's fine. I already told my father I was staying at Ino's."

"You told your father a lie?" asked Sasuke as he made to get out, Hinata doing the same as she took up her bag.

"Hai," said Hinata with a blush and Sasuke had a hard time trying to unlock the door while trying not to take his eyes off Hinata.

Sasuke took his shoes off and he walked inside and turned around, seeing Hinata standing at the door with her hands tightly holding her bag straps as she stared inside the cozy cabin in which the music from the radio filled.

Sasuke walked towards her and took her hand. "It's much warmer in here," he said as he closed the door, watching as Hinata looked around.

"You rented here?" asked Hinata breathlessly. "Isn't that too much?"

"Nothing is too much for you," said Sasuke leading her to the couch by the roaring fire. "I have something for you."

Hinata's eyes lit up. "I have something for you too," she said.

"Let's open them together then."

Sasuke got up and went to the drawer I the corner of the room, opening it and took out one of the boxes then he went to sit next to Hinata again, who was taking something from her bag.

Trading what they had, Sasuke's anticipation grew as he watched Hinata uncover her present as he did his own slowly.

"Kami!" Hinata whispered to herself, her hand to her mouth in shock. "Sasuke…"

Sasuke looked up to see tears rimming Hinata's eyes. "You like it?" he asked her softly.

Hinata shook her head. "Iie… I love it. It's perfect."

She leaned forward to hug Sasuke tightly and pecked him on the lips. "Is all of this what you've been doing?"

"Hai," said Sasuke, wiping the stray tears that ran down her soft and dimpled cheeks. "I went to the mines to get your gift done and then I had to get this place."

"Sasuke, I'm so sorry for thinking that you had somehow lost interest in me," said Hinata in a choked voice. "I never thought you would do something like this."

Sasuke grinned at her. "I told you, I would do anything for you," he said. "I even died to be with you. Why would I do something to change that?"

Hinata laughed. "You certainly did and I'm glad."

"Here. Let me put this on for you," said Sasuke taking the necklace from her shaking hand. Hinata turned around so that he could take the one she was wearing off and replace it with his own as Hinata held up the stray strands of midnight blue hair. He set the other one on the table in front of them.

He turned her around and felt his face pull into a soft smile. "It looks great on you."

Hinata blushed. "Really?" she asked looking in his lap. "You haven't opened yours yet."

Sasuke took the lid off the box and his eyes widened in pleasant surprise. Taking the silver chain out, two dog tags dangled from it.

He wordlessly took them between his fingers to look at them closer to see diamond encrusted 'S' and 'H' in one of them and, turning it over, he saw 'Together Forever.' On the other one were two hearts joined, one red and the other blue, that he could see were their birthstones.

"If it's too girly for you I can change it," Hinata said, sounding unsure of herself.

Sasuke looked at her as he took the chain and put it over his head, letting the tags fall on his chest. "It's perfect," he said, quoting her words to describe the cross that glinted from between her cleavage. "This is one of the gifts I'll never throw away."

Hinata's uncertain look melted away as she laughed. "That's good to know."

Sasuke took the tags in his palm to inspect them. "These must have cost you quite a lot," he said.

"Nothing's too good for you," Hinata mimicked and Sasuke could no longer control himself as he leaned forward to press his lips to hers.

He had planned to take her to the lake to watch the sunset- that had set about half hour ago- and then do something else but the way how she sat there with flushed cheeks in that dress with her hair put up do he could see his cross on her neck took that straight from his mind as he deepened the kiss.

Sasuke bit his own tongue as he felt his thirst surge forward and then bit Hinata's, who seemed to be in a daze until he did, the she was kissing him back just as forcefully, the taste of their mixed blood heightening his senses.

Nipping her now bruised lips, Sasuke trailed his teeth down to her neck, grazing the skin lightly. Hinata shivered as tilted her head back to give him better access.

He had been waiting so long to bite Hinata that he hesitated as though waiting for someone to kick down the door and interrupt them but after Hinata let out a whine, Sasuke sank his teeth into the flesh, piercing her skin and vein.

* * *

Hinata gasped both in pain and pleasure at the feel of Sasuke's teeth invading her neck. She could remember when Itachi had done it but it felt so much better now that it was with Sasuke.

The way he was taking her blood felt so good that Hinata had a hard time catching her breath. She could feel the blood leaving her body slowly as it left her vein to disappear in Sasuke's mouth. Her eyes fell lidded as he drank and then she felt Sasuke licking the wound to close it, his face now hovering over hers before he kissed her again and he gathered her up in his arms as he lay her down.

Hinata sighed rolling her head back as he hitched her dress higher up and then when it was high enough, she sat up to allow him to pull it over her head.

She watched as Sasuke stared at her, feeling her thirst rise at the look in his eyes. He looked ready to devour her and she rested on her elbows, sinking in the cushions as he kissed her again.

Hinata was not dense. She knew what was happening and it was when her hands moved on their own accord to unbutton Sasuke's shirt and then she was pulling it from his shoulders, that Hinata knew she could not… would not stop.

Hinata braced herself for the extra weight when Sasuke straddled her and took her head in his hands, pressing her face to his neck.

"Go on," he whispered.

She had been waiting to bite him for so long. Inhaling, she breathed in his scent and licked at his pulse, feeling it jump beneath her lips. Hinata gave him soft nips around the area she wanted and without warning him, pressed her fangs into the skin. She heard him gasp and felt him grip her hair as she sucked on the puncture wounds. Everything was getting better and better it seemed. She had never imagined taking blood from him like this could be so pleasurable and wondered how he managed not to drain her.

Hinata had not even realized she had been grinding up into Sasuke until she removed her mouth from him, licking at the droplets of blood that leaked form the tiny holes in his skin. The feeling of his arousal rubbing against her felt so good until she realized something was digging into her stomach as he mimicked the movements.

Continuing her undulating, Hinata reached between them and then Sasuke lifted himself off her looking down. Sitting on her lap, he unbuckled the belt and the pants and then he got on his knees as he unzipped it as well, the sound of the zipper loud in Hinata's ears as he slowly revealed his navy boxers.

Hinata ran her hand down his chest and over his hard abs, her fingers dipping in every groove in his stomach as she took the waistband of his boxers to drag them down slightly. Sasuke chuckled and took her hands in his and set them on the hand rest of the couch. He then traced his hands over her cheeks and down until he reached her bra.

"I didn't even know they had such things," he said. "A bra that hooks at the front?"

Hinata nodded with a smile. "I had been… thinking about how much trouble they gave you the last time."

Looking back on when she had been putting it on, Hinata had to wonder if she had planned for this all along.

"Not this time," Sasuke murmured, and he dipped his head to kiss both her breasts through the lacy bra, pulling at the clip with his teeth.

Hinata arched into his mouth as the clip snapped open and Sasuke tugged the material away to take the nipples of one of the globes into his mouth, suckling on each as he tugged and squeezed the other. By the time he was through her breasts were ridden with bites and purple bruises. Thank goodness they would fade before she would have to go back home.

Sasuke sank lower and lower, trailing kisses as he went until he reached her laced shorts, his warm breath washing over her as he bit at her lightly through the lace then pulled it down, Hinata lifting her lower body to help him until they were at her ankles and she kicked them off along with her shoes that she had forgotten to remove. Hinata panted at the sensations that ran through her as Sasuke pressed his tongue to her, nibbling at the bundle of nerves, leaving her melting under his ministrations. She could feel the pressure building as he continued and sat up quickly to push him by the shoulders.

"N-not yet," she panted. "I don't want to… not y-yet."

Sasuke looked up at her, licking his lips and nodded climbing over her to kiss her lips softly, deepening a few moments later so Hinata could taste what he had and then he parted, looking down at her. "We can't do this here," he said.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, slowly regaining a hold on her breathing.

Sasuke gathered her up in his arms and held her behind the knees and around her back as he stood.

"I mean, we can't do this here on the couch," he explained.

Sasuke walked the short way to the bedroom, kicking the door open but not bothering to close it as he carried her to the futon and gently set her down before pulling off his boxers to throw them somewhere until needed later. Hinata took in the sight before her, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks as she couldn't keep her eyes off her boyfriend.

"Nani?"

Hinata looked up at him. "I've never done w-what you've done to me," she said more to herself than to him.

Sasuke smiled at her. "Do you want to?"

Taking a deep breath, Hinata tilted her head down once. "But you have to promise you won't look."

Sasuke laughed as he climbed over her to kiss her bitten and bruised lips. He parted from her. "You're unbelievable," he said. "You're asking to go down on me but yet you don't want me to look?"

Hinata blushed furiously in answer, making Sasuke chuckle even more as he rolled off her, taking her along so she ended up on him instead. "It's impossible not to look if you're in my line of vision," he told her. "Turn around."

Hinata did as he had asked so her back was to him and then she understood what he wanted to do. "A-ano" she stuttered nervously.

Sasuke grabbed her hips to haul her back so the apex of her thighs were directly above him and then pulled her down to his lips, kissing and parting the folds with his tongue and Hinata moaned for the first time as she grinded her hips down. Hinata looked at Sasuke's arousal and then took it in her hand, testing the weight as she gripped the base. Sasuke twitched and Hinata felt pride in knowing she could do that to him with just a touch.

Slowly, Hinata brought her mouth closer to him, breathing heavily before she licked the tip once, causing Sasuke to moan sending the vibrations right up her spine. Steeling herself, she took him into her mouth. Not sure what she was doing, Hinata swirled her tongue around the plum-like head as she took him slowly into her mouth before bringing her head back up.

"Just like that," Sasuke breathed under her, his hips bucking the slightest bit as she continued, quite enjoying the way she was making him feel. Getting the knowledge of what made Sasuke squirm and what made him bite her almost painfully, excited Hinata and she found she couldn't keep up as she was or she would indeed reach completion before she wanted.

Hinata sat up, twisting to look at Sasuke's eyes by looking over her behind.

"You're done?" asked Sasuke, his voice muffled, as he pushed her up to get off before grabbing her waist and flipping them over once again.

Sasuke leaned over her, kissing her deeply as though he was kissing her for the first time and his last, taking Hinata's breath away.

"Sasuke…" she started when he closed his lips over hers and pulled away, but he put his finger to her lips.

"It's ok," he said. "We don't have to go any further if you don't want to."

Hinata could see that as badly as he wanted to take this to another level, he would wait until she was ready and shook her head. She pulled him down to her to peck him on the lips and then stared into his eyes. "I want this."

Sasuke's eyes widened as she saw what she had said wash over him. "Are you sure?" he asked her.

"I am," Hinata told him with a weak smiled from being so nervous.

Sasuke nodded and settled between her legs properly, letting out a breath as he pressed his fingers to her running them over the folds and between to lubricate them. Hinata held her breath as he slid them lower and pressed them in, the uncomfortable feeling of being invaded passing over her when he slowly tried to press further. This reminded Hinata of when she had tried to wear a tampon and she giggled, making Sasuke frown a little.

"That's not the reaction I was expecting," he said with a smirk now.

"I was remembering when I attempted to wear a tampon," Hinata said. "It was so uncomfortable I had to remove it before I left the house."

"This will be uncomfortable too," Sasuke said. "But it should get a little better, I think."

Sasuke gently pulled the digits out a little before pushing them in again until Hinata got used to the feeling. It was by no means pleasurable, but she could handle it better now. Seeming to have realized this, Sasuke pulled out his fingers completely, kissing her as he positioned himself over her, lining up his lower body with hers as he reached between them. It was then that Hinata felt him pressing the tip of his arousal to her entrance.

She kept eye contact with Sasuke until she could feel the large pulsing member sliding between her walls and she tightly shut her eyes as her hips instinctively sank into the futon to escape the intrusion, feeling her body clamp down on him.

Sasuke gasped, his breathing just as ragged as her own then he leaned over to whisper in her ears. "You have to relax," he told her. "You're pushing me back out."

Hinata inhaled deeply, realizing that she had not been breathing and tried to relax her body as Sasuke pushed himself in. Breathing erratically, Hinata tried her best not to make a sound as she bit on Sasuke's shoulder to ease her discomfort.

Suddenly Sasuke stopped all movement and before Hinata could ask why he surged forward and pain shot right up her body, the feeling of being torn in half making her eyes blur.

"Itai!" screamed Hinata. It was only after she blinked that she felt the tears run down the sides of her face to disappear into her hair.

"Shh," Sasuke comforted, licking away her tears and kissing her eyes.

"Sasuke," whispered Hinata through a strangled breath. "It h-hurts."

"It will get better," said Sasuke with a strained voice. "Just stop gripping me so tight and try to get used to it."

"Hai," said Hinata and relaxed completely, almost melting into the futon as her body got used to Sasuke but it was so strange to have a part of someone inside you. She assumed the feeling was mutual if the case was the other way around when she saw how Sasuke's hair stuck to his face, dripping sweat onto her cheek and sweat running through the links of his chain that dangled from his neck.

Sasuke started to move, the discomfort slowly ebbing away as he rocked his hips into hers gently. Hinata held onto his shoulders, clawing his skin with small gashes as the thrusts became deeper and faster until she was yielding under him, the pleasure starting to rise. She held onto her panting boyfriend above her, her breathing hitched and as shallow as his thrusts. She wrapped his legs around Sasuke to pull him deeper still. "Sasuke…"

"Hai?" Sasuke grunted out.

It was now or never.

"I love you, Sasuke."

Sasuke lost his rhythm for a second before he picked up the pace again, burying his face in her neck. "Kami. Hinata, you don't know how long I've… I've been waiting to hear you say that."

Sasuke pulled her cross from around her neck to set it between her breasts as he pressed his lips to neck now, biting her as he continued to plunge into her. Hinata felt completion coiling within, as he suckled on her neck.

And then she snapped.

Letting out a cry, Hinata gripped onto Sasuke, her body jerking and shuddering as he rode her a few moments after and then he gasped her name, his teeth burrowing further in her neck as he climaxed. A warm feeling pooled inside her as he shivered above her and leaned on his forearms so as not to crush her under his weight.

Hinata hugged him closer as he licked the fresh wound. "I love you," he murmured.

Hinata smiled. "I love you too, Sasuke."

Sasuke rolled off her, the feeling of him slipping out, making her cringe as he lay on his back next to her and then sat up to unfold the blanket to throw over them. Then he pulled her onto his chest to run his fingers through her hair. Hinata could feel her eyes closing as exhaustion seeped through her, her breathing evening out.

She had never thought today would have turned out the way it had, but she was glad it did. She had Sasuke with her and they were all alone for once until the weekend and they had just made love, making Hinata feel unlike she had ever felt before.

Pressing her ears to listen to Sasuke's heart as her own beat in her ears, Hinata's lids fluttered with the realization that his heart was beating in sync with her own. She pressed a kiss to his chest as she curled up next to Sasuke, slumber finally winning as she drifted off to sleep with his chain in her hand.

This was a Christmas to remember for sure. Hinata had gotten great gifts and had spent time with her family, spent a little time with her understanding best friend who offered her blood whenever she needed it, found out where her mother's clan was, and best of all…

She was one with her mate.

* * *

**__**

That's the end of the chapter readers. I really hope this chapter made up for being so late. I could have had this up last night but it was too late to reread so I apologize for that.  
Now you might ask why this lemon was so descriptive compared to the other one in A Happy Ending but that is because that fic is for mature adults, while this fic is for mature teens so I tried to get all the emotions and stuff that a teenager would feel on the event of their first time. I hope it didn't offend anyone and did a good enough job, although I didn't use any harsh words, and that you enjoyed it since I was holding back for some time now. Hina hime is for teens but I don't know how long it will remain that way.

If you have not read A Happy Ending or Hina hime please do.

Until next update…

Ja ne!

Please review, I love it when you do!


	34. Boxing Day Questionnaire

**_Hi there everyone! Wow, weekend came around really fast for me, but that's good. I'm not sick but I do had to go out this weekend both Saturday and Sunday and I already had a late start due to playing Jojo's Fashion Show now that I have it on the full version. That, and I read new chapters when I should have been writing, gomen.  
_**

**_Then, I was watching Pink Panther 2 with my mum and people having funny falls and stuff on YouTube as well lol! Well let's get on with it and not waste anymore time and I'll give you a longer chapter to make up for the wait._**

Excuse any errors and R&R!!!

* * *

****

Chapter 34: Boxing Day Questionnaire

**---------**

The morning was spent in silence mostly. Sasuke could tell that Hinata was a little nervous about talking to him after what had happened the night before and, to be honest, he was a little nervous as well.

It felt as though he could feel her emotions and they were tied and wrapped up in his own, making them that much more intense.

They had experienced their first time together, seen and felt what they never had before and it had been amazing. Hinata had told him she loved him and they had slept peacefully afterwards and to Sasuke, that was the best part.

The worst part was waking up grimy and finding dried blood- among other things- when they woke up.

Sasuke was sure he had never freaked out so much in his life (and having been in the passenger seat with Naruto driving, saying that was something). He was not going, 'oh Kami! Oh Kami!' but was very close, seeing as he thought he had somehow hurt Hinata.

How was he to know it commonly happened? He felt thoroughly embarrassed when Hinata revealed that piece of information. That was what he got for never paying attention in Guidance and Sex Ed.

Hinata had told him not to worry about it, that is was normal, even though he fussed when he noticed she was walking a little awkwardly and later found that her thighs hurt.

That pain had temporarily flown through the bathroom window when they decided to bathe together and one thing led to another, leaving them both drained from rapid loss of blood and energy.

They had barely made it back to the futon to rest before getting up so that Hinata could call home to assure her father she was still alive and so Sasuke could call home to tell everyone he was fine as well. By the late afternoon, the pain was gone and they were fully replenished.

And now, here they were silently sitting at the table, Sasuke in black boxers and Hinata in one of his T-shirts that kept falling off her bruised shoulder.

He couldn't understand how she could be so active earlier and now she was back to being her shy, blushing self.

"What do you want to do?" Sasuke asked her. "We still have until later when you have to go home."

"I'm not sure," said Hinata, sounding a little hoarse. "But maybe we can go out by the lake."

"That's a great idea," said Sasuke, glad that she was talking to him again. Apparently, she had been deeply embarrassed by what they had done in the shower. He was sure if there were any other people living close by, they would have heard the racket they had made.

Sasuke now fully appreciated that the others at home tried to keep their noise down as much as they did, even though it sounded as though they were right in the room with him sometimes, which was very disturbing. He fully understood the art of getting carried away in the moment and not thinking or caring about who heard you.

They went back to the bedroom to change and Sasuke noticed that Hinata was still quiet.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"We're mates now," Hinata replied as she turned away to look through the curtained window.

Sasuke, not understanding where she was going with the statement, waited for her to continue.

"Last night before I went to sleep, I listened to your heartbeat and it was beating in time with mine," said Hinata. She fingered the cross between her fingers and looked up at him with a small smile. "We're really bonded."

Sasuke walked up to her and hugged her from behind, inhaling the scent of her hair. "Hai."

"It feels different," Hinata said, turning to him, resting her hands on the sill as he trapped her there. "Our hearts know. I can feel the pull towards you; I've been sensing it all morning… can you feel it too?"

"Hai," said Sasuke. "I think it only works if we're within feet of each other though."

That was true. He could only sense little things about Hinata when they were close, as in the same room or building. When he had gone outside earlier to get the wood for the fire from outback, he could barely feel Hinata was inside.

Sasuke and Hinata watched as the sun tried to peep through the thick clouds for awhile, not saying anything until Hinata's eyes widened.

"How could I forget!" she said suddenly.

"Nani?"

"It completely slipped my mind to tell you," said Hinata, still not answering the question. She pulled out of Sasuke's caged embrace and went to her bag to rummage around until she found what she had been looking for, which was a small piece of paper. She handed it to him.

"What's this?" Sasuke asked her, unfolding the paper to see that it was a map or directions leading to a red square dot that was labeled.

"What's the red door?" he asked Hinata.

"It's where the Hitomi clan is," Hinata told him. "My father gave it to me yesterday. Apparently, one of the maids that work at my house is from the clan and was ordered to keep watch on me by my grandmother, the leader of the clan."

"Why would she want to have you followed?" asked Sasuke. "I thought she didn't want anything to do with you."

"That's what I wanted to know," Hinata said. "Otou-san said that since I'm her granddaughter, she probably wants to protect my blood, or something along those lines."

"So she doesn't want you but she doesn't want anyone else to have you either?" asked Sasuke blankly. "What a bitch."

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Gomen."

Hinata sighed. "You know I don't like when you swear, but she is somewhat of a-ano… a 'B' for what she did; both to me, my father, Neji, and even Hanabi."

Sasuke laughed at her attempt to swear and hugged her. "When do you want to go to Mizugakure?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure yet," said Hinata. "But I'll let you know because my father's birthday is coming up."

Sasuke smirked as he turned away, not wanting her to see. "Yours is tomorrow, isn't it?" he asked her in a flat voice, pulling on a shirt and shorts.

"Hai," said Hinata in both surprise and glee; the girl must have forgotten.

He turned to see her pulling off her own T-shirt to reveal her lacy pink panties and bra. Sasuke sighed as reasoning surfaced in his mind. He couldn't leave any more marks on her incase she wasn't able to hide them all before they faded.

That wouldn't go to well with her father, knowing some unknown teenager had been all over his daughter before he even met him.

But it was when Hinata decided to bend over to look in her bag for something to put on, that Sasuke couldn't stop himself from rushing forward to pull Hinata with him on the bed.

"Sasuke!" Hinata squeaked from surprise. "We're supposed to go to the lake."

Sasuke leaned up; dragging his fingers through Hinata's hair to take it out of the ponytail it was in and pulled her face down to his own to kiss her. It was such a pity he was wearing jeans when she was in nothing but her underwear. Sasuke reached between them.

"I think we can have out own little 'wet fete' right here," he commented when they parted, making the girl above him blush.

"B-but we didn't get to go outside yet," Hinata said, almost sounding like a whine. "We were in the house all day."

Seeing that Hinata was right, Sasuke let her go, sitting up as she straddled his lap before setting her on her feet.

"Ok," he complied, watching as Hinata put on a sweater and jeans, and then tried to think of something disturbing.

The two grabbed their coats since the air was a lot chillier in the country and set off to go to the lake.

* * *

It was such a pretty sight.

Just sitting on the damp grass as the breeze nipped at Hinata's fingers and nose, made her realize that sometimes it was the simple things that made the difference.

Sitting, Hinata stroked Sasuke's hair as he lay his head in her lap while she looked out to the vast expanse of murky blue; she smiled.

"What are you so happy about?" Sasuke drawled from being so relaxed. He had not even seen her smile, his eyes were closed.

She forgot that he could feel what she experienced. "It's really nice being out here with you all alone," she said.

"Hai," Sasuke agreed. "This is the first time we've been together for so long without a single interruption."

Hinata hummed. "Arigatou."

Sasuke lay on his back from his previous position on his side. "For what?" he asked.

"For bringing us out here and for everything you've done for me," said Hinata.

Sasuke gave her a smile, one that she knew was just for her.

"You don't have to thank me," said Sasuke. "Part of this was for me too, you know."

Hinata laughed.

---

They had stayed outside until it was it was nearly impossible to brave the cold and then they went inside to warm up by the fire for a few minutes and then he would take her home. In the process, he would meet her father.

That scared her.

She was not sure how her father would react to meeting Sasuke. Hinata already had it in mind to tell him that Sasuke had picked her up from Ino's because she had not wanted to bother neither him nor Neji.

Sasuke seemed a little anxious as well, she could tell. Despite the fact that he was moving around the house calmly as they packed up, she could see and feel that he wasn't sure how her father would view him.

Well, Sasuke was from a nice respectable vampire clan, he was mostly mannerly when he needed to be, and he had died for her. What else could a father ask for in a boyfriend and mate for his daughter?

But no one ever had a clue of what they parents and family would think of the person they loved and sometimes it was after you had broken up with the person that the truth came out.

Hanabi had told Hinata that Naruto was a brainless idiot and she was glad Konohamaru was not that closely related to him, that she should have dumped him a long time ago and that he had no sense of style even if a proper shirt tried to strangle him with its sleeves.

When they got outside, Sasuke turned to her. "Do you want to drive?" he asked. "You haven't been practicing for awhile."

It was not like her father would see her driving. "Hai."

Hinata was always nervous when she got behind the wheel but after pulling away from the cabin and watching it grow farther away as she drove, she calmed down. Sasuke had to direct her on the way home since she had not been really paying attention on their way to the cabin.

"Do you think he'll like you?" asked Hinata, glancing to her right in Sasuke's direction.

"You're his daughter," he replied. "You should know what he's looking for."

"Well he seems to like Neji," Hinata said more to herself to him. "So he might like you too."

Sasuke snorted. "Don't compare me to your cousin," he said. "He's so emotionless."

Hinata grinned. "So you're emotionless too?"

It was amazing how the two males were so alike.

Sasuke chose not to answer that question, opting to change the subject.

"So what do you have planned for New Years?" he asked her.

"Nothing yet," said Hinata. "But it's a little before Otou-san's birthday so he may want to do something. Why?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Nothing. I was just asking, but maybe you'd like to go into the city or something. Go out."

Hinata's face relaxed into a smile, glancing at Sasuke for a second before turning her eyes to the road again. "I'd love go to go to the city with you."

---

Taking a deep breath, Hinata looked across at Sasuke after she pulled up in the driveway outside her house.

"Here we are," she said, her hand still griping the steering wheel and the other on the gear.

"Yes, you are."

Both Hinata and Sasuke started at the deep voice outside her rolled down window. Hinata looked around and up to see her father standing there with a raised eyebrow and an air of curiosity and yet there was a threat there that she should get from behind the wheel and start explaining.

"Otou-san!"

Hinata scrambled to snatch her bag from in the backseat, giving Sasuke a frantic look as his eyes reflected the same expression that clearly said 'Oh crap.'

Getting out and shutting the door, Hinata faced her father who had his arms folded across his chest. Sasuke had gotten out and came around to their side as well.

"I was sitting out front for a little fresh air," started Hiashi calmly. "When I heard a loud roaring vehicle pulling into my driveway and who should I see driving said car but my daughter?"

Hinata remained quiet.

"Whose car is this?" Hiashi asked her. "And what were you doing driving it?"

Hinata finally felt her senses work again and she was able to answer. "It Sasuke's car," she told him, pointing to her boyfriend, who nodded in confirmation. "I was practicing my driving."

Hiashi turned his head to see the young brunette who stood next to her.

"You're Sasuke?" he addressed.

"Hai, my name is Uchiha Sasuke," said the younger male. "You must be Hinata's father."

Sasuke reached out his hand and Hiashi shook it firmly, scrutinizing him thoroughly. This had not been the way Hinata had wanted them to meet.

"I am. Who are you?" asked Hiashi.

Sasuke looked at Hinata, silently asking if he should be the one to tell her father and Hinata swiftly shook her head.

"Sasuke is my boyfriend," Hinata said softly, choosing to leave out the fact that he was her mate; she would save that piece of information for a little later. Like when Sasuke wasn't liable to have his neck wrung off his shoulders.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "Your what?"

"M-my boyfriend," Hinata stuttered. "This is his car and he's been teaching me how to drive."

"Illegally, I imagine."

Hinata had not thought of that.

"I know this looks kind of bad, Hyuuga-san," said Sasuke. "But we were careful and Hinata's a pretty good driver."

Now that Sasuke had spoken about being careful, Hinata remembered that they had not worn condoms even when they had been up to their activities twice.

Silently having a panic attack, Hinata felt for the first time in years she would faint.

Sasuke took her hand in his, this not going unnoticed by her father as he glared at their linked hands.

"Why don't you both come inside," he said and turned, not giving them the option of saying anything.

After locking the car doors, Hinata and Sasuke silently followed her father hand in hand.

When they got in the house, Hinata looked around for Neji and Hanabi as she put down her bag.

"The others are upstairs," said Hiashi, seeming to read her mind. The man led then to the living room and asked them to sit. "Well let's start this simple," Hiashi said. "How long were you learning to drive?"

"A couple of weeks now," said Hinata.

"Always with Sasuke?"

"Hai."

"So why not Neji?"

"…"

"Hn," Hiashi finished at Hinata's silence. He turned to Sasuke. "Is that really your car?"

"Hai."

"How did you come to own such a car at your age?" Hiashi asked him.

"How did Neji come to own such a car at his age?" Sasuke replied and Hinata could have smacked her head on the armrest.

"You did not answer my question," said Hiashi, obviously not moved by Sasuke's boldness.

"I did," said Sasuke. "I couldn't have stolen it, so clearly it was given to me. My parents bought it for me as one of my Christmas presents."

"I see. Now for something a little more challenging," said Hiashi. "How is it that Hinata was sleeping over at Ino's but she is coming home with you?"

Hinata swallowed nervously. The rehearsed line flew from her mind, but before she could think of something to say, Sasuke decided to answer for her.

"Hinata didn't want to bother you or Neji so she asked me to pick her up and bring her home," he flawlessly lied.

Hinata could feel that Sasuke had slipped into his comfort zone of impassiveness and let out a sigh of relief.

Hiashi narrowed his eyes at Hinata.

"What is that around your neck?"

Hinata felt both her heart and Sasuke's miss a beat at the question.

* * *

Sasuke kept his eyes on the intimidating man sitting in front of him as he stared at Hinata's cross.

"I gave that to her for Christmas," said Sasuke, trying to get Hiashi's attention off of his daughter.

"Is that so?" Hiashi asked him. "I think I'll have your family looked into. Uchiha, is it?"

"I hardly think that is necessary," said Sasuke. "You won't find much."

Hiashi glared at him, his cold stare making the hair rise on Sasuke's neck.

"And why is that?"

"I think telling you would defeat the purpose, don't you?" said Sasuke. He couldn't help it, being snide was in his blood.

Hiashi smirked. "I like you," he said. "Not many people can attempt to speak to me like that."

Sasuke smirked as well. "It runs in the clan."

Hiashi paused all movement. "Excuse me? Did you say clan?"

"Hai," said Sasuke. "Is there a problem?" Then he realized what Hiashi wanted clarified.

Oh shit.

Well the truth had to come out sometime. Sasuke ran through his answer if the question was asked.

_' Why yes, I am Hinata's mate. It's so nice to meet the father of the girl I've been sucking on for the past couple of weeks. How was your day?'_

No, that wouldn't work.

Hiashi turned to Hinata, more looking at her cross than her, before searching her eyes.

"Hinata, is there something you'd like to tell me?" asked Hiashi and Sasuke saw Hinata's jaws tighten as she unconsciously bit her tongue.

That was not a good idea for the scent wafted right up Sasuke's nose and the last thing he wanted was to be thirsty in front of this man. He felt his teeth tingle a little and hoped Hiashi wouldn't notice.

"Sasuke is not only my boyfriend," said Hinata. "He's my mate."

Sasuke had to congratulate her not stuttering since nervousness was pulsating through her at the moment; or was that him?

Hiashi's eyes widened a fraction. It was like when you knew something and asked someone to tell you but it still shocked the hell out of you when you heard the truth anyway.

"I must have heard wrong," said Hiashi. "I know my sixteen year old daughter did not just say that this equally young male, sitting in my chair in my house, is her mate."

By the sound of Hiashi's low voice, Sasuke didn't know what to expect. He looked so calm, Hinata could have told him the obvious news that it was going to be cold tomorrow.

Watching Hinata fidget, Sasuke decided to take up the reigns.

"Hai, Hyuuga-san," he said to gain the man's attention.

Hiashi's piercing gaze fell on Sasuke.

"So you know what she is?" asked Hiashi. "You accept that?"

"Of course I do," said Sasuke. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"You're a vampire as well?" Hiashi asked Sasuke and he nodded.

"I'm from the Uchiha clan."

"A mixed clan," Hiashi said more than asked. Sasuke had to hand it to the man; it seemed like he knew everything there was to know.

"Which is why you were so confident that I wouldn't find out much about you?" Hiashi stated. "Well let Hinata tell you that I'm a man who usually gets what he wants."

"So do I," Sasuke replied.

Hiashi smirked as he stood up, Sasuke following the action; Hinata did so as well. The older man motioned towards the door.

"Well it is getting late, Sasuke," said Hiashi walking to the door. "I'm sure your parents must be worried to have you out so late.

It was just past eight.

Sasuke walked out the door and stood on the threshold, holding out his hand to shake Hiashi's. "It was nice meeting you, Hyuuga san."

Hiashi gave him a little upturn of his lips. "Same here," he said.

Sasuke held in his surprise. Did this mean that Hiashi had accepted him?

"I will talk to Hinata after you leave. And know this," the man continued and Sasuke could feel Hinata's apprehension. "If you ever hurt Hinata in any way and word gets back to me, I don't care what clan you are a member of, you'll regret it."

Sasuke stared the Hyuuga in the eye unblinkingly. "Hyuuga-san," he said. "I'm sure you know what it means to become someone's mate, having been in a similar position."

"That may be so, but you must realize we were a lot older than you are," Hiashi replied. "It would surprise you."

Hinata looked up to her father, probably hearing a new piece of information. Why would she though? Hiashi was around twenty-nine at the time. That was a little old to be getting your first child, in his opinion but, surely, Hinata's mother was younger than he was. Or was she?

"May I speak to Hinata alone before I leave?" asked Sasuke.

"You may."

"Arigatou, Hyuuga-san," said Sasuke. "See you soon."

Hinata silently brushed past her father, cheeks aflame, and Sasuke took her hand and led her out to the front where they were still in plain view of Hiashi.

Sasuke did not want to get Hinata in trouble by making Hiashi think he was kissing her or something right outside his house, although he badly wanted to. He positioned himself so that he was backing the man and blocking Hinata in the process.

"That went better than I thought it would," said Hinata. "I had thought he would kill us. But maybe he wants you gone so he can finish me off without a witness."

Sasuke laughed. "You have quite the imagination," he told her. "I don't think a human that just threatened a vampire for the sake of his daughter would kill her afterwards."

"That's true," said Hinata. She quickly shifted head. "Otou-san's waiting for me," she said. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Nothing really," said Sasuke. "I wanted to have you alone for a little while."

"We were alone last night and today," said Hinata with a blush.

"And it still isn't enough," Sasuke said. "I'll never have enough."

Sasuke smirked to see that the blush had spread and her ears had come to join the party. "Don't say that," she whispered. "He might hear you."

"He knows I'm your mate," Sasuke said. "Surely he knows what comes with that."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Sasuke!" she said, lining her face up with his to obscure her from her father's view. "About what we did…"

"You mean about not using condoms?" asked Sasuke, knowing this was going to come up.

Hinata nodded slightly and he could see that she was growing anxious.

"You don't have to worry," he told her. "Last night was full moon, remember? That goes straight for forty-eight hours for us so you won't get pregnant. It's half-moon we have to be careful with."

Sasuke could see the relief wash right over Hinata's face and smiled. He wished he could hold her but her father would probably be upset if he did.

"That's so good to hear," said Hinata.

"Not for me," Sasuke said. "We still had a good few hours left."

Hinata's blush intensified.

"I'll go now before you have all the blood rush to your head," Sasuke told her. He wanted to give her the other present but decided against it. "Can I see you tomorrow?" he asked her.

"My father might want to have dinner," said Hinata. "But I do want to see you tomorrow."

"Good, because I have something for you," Sasuke said.

Hinata's eyes lit up. "Really? But Sasuke, you didn't have to. Christmas was just yesterday."

"So what? It's your birthday and I had to get you something," said Sasuke. "So see you tomorrow?"

"We'll see," Hinata said. She peeped around Sasuke. "My father's waiting," she said. "I have to go now."

"Hai," said Sasuke.

Hinata took his hand briefly. "Bye, Sasuke."

Sasuke squeezed her hand before she let go. "See you later online?"

"Hai."

Sasuke watched as Hinata walked away and then waved to Hiashi as he got in the car with a final beep of his horn. While driving, Sasuke couldn't help but think how well that went.

With a smile on his face as he bit his wrist, Sasuke drove home feeling like the luckiest man alive.

* * *

**_Sorry readers it ends here but I think this is a nice ending for the chapter. That and my back is killing me from working today and Im stressed. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. _**

**_If you have not read _****Hina-hime****_ or_**** A Happy Ending****_ (now completed) please do._**

**_Until next update_**

**_Ja_****_ ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	35. A Father’s Tale Part 1

**_Hi there readers! I must apologize for the late chapter. I had written some of the chapter last Saturday and was planning on finishing it last Sunday but my father called his friend to fix the pc without telling me while I was visiting my cousins and so I had nothing to do all week but read Harry Potter books for the umpteenth time-loved every bit of it- and watch DVDs. I was very angry because I had not saved the 1500+ words I had written but the guy didn't swipe everything off so I didn't have to start all over again tonight but you can guess how much work I've done to get at least _something_ to you tonight. _**

**_The pc was brought back just this morning but I visited my cousins and came back late. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get _Hina hime_ to you by weekend so just hang in there. I'm so far behind now on all my reviews, new chapters, and new updates from other sites but I swear I'll stick it out and not look at them until I finish this. I hope you like it. _**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

**_

* * *

  
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**Chapter 35: A Father's Tale Pt 1**

**----------**

As Hinata walked back to her father, who was waiting by the door, nervousness crept over her even more. She was not sure what he would want to talk to her about but she knew that it would not start as the most comfortable of conversations.

Wordlessly, Hiashi led Hinata to the same room and sat down, waiting until she did the same. He rubbed the bridge of his nose before he opened his eyes to look at her.

"Hinata," he started, but Hinata cut him off.

"Gomen, I didn't mean to keep this from you for so long but I was afraid you would be upset that Sasuke's my mate and we really were planning on telling you tonight. Sasuke's a great person and he converted for me and everything so that I could go after my past and so he could be with me."

Hinata breathed deeply after her ramble, waiting for her father to say something.

Hiashi reclined in the comfy chair. "I don't even know what to say right now," he said but then he paused. "Did you say he converted?"

"Hai," said Hinata.

"So he wasn't a vampire before? Second born, I imagine," Hiashi said more to himself than to her. "He's a brave boy. Is his mother still alive? Or is she not a vampire?"

Hinata nodded. "He is the second son. He has an older brother, Itachi." said Hinata. She felt really bad for both hers and her father's luck. Her mother was a vampire and died with two daughters while Sasuke's mother lived with two sons. "His mother isn't a vampire, his father is."

"And he converted for you," said Hiashi. "Brave boy."

Hinata looked at her father and saw he had a hint of a sad smile and wondered why he would feel that way. It was then that she fully realized that he had not converted and wanted to know why.

"Why didn't you convert for Oka-san?" she asked him quietly.

"I wanted to," said Hiashi. "I wanted it more than anything so that I could be with your mother forever but Naomi didn't permit it and even so… we would have been separated by her death."

Hinata frowned. "How could she do such a thing?" she asked, deliberately not furthering his latter statement.

"Naomi already had someone that would be your Oka-san's mate," said Hiashi, gaining a gasp from his daughter. "It is the way of pureblooded clans but Lyvi didn't want to do it and she ran away. She somehow ran away under the clan's noses."

"And then what happened?" asked Hinata. She could tell that her father was not having an easy time telling her about her mother but she was grateful that he was. She wanted to know as much as possible before it was time to face her grandmother.

"She tried to get away," said Hiashi. "Your mother, she wasn't used to taking blood forcefully. The clan had special servants to give blood when needed. She wandered around until she was as far from the clan as possible, sure they would not find her but by the time she did that she was so weak she could not even walk. It was pure and sheer fate that I found her on the roadside on my way to work."

"Kami!" Hinata breathed. "Was she alright?"

Hiashi sighed. "She was barely alive by the looks of it, couldn't even open her eyes. I was already late for work that morning but I stopped and put her in the backseat of the car. I couldn't understand why such a pretty girl would be on the road like that and I could tell she wasn't homeless or anything like that since her clothes were quite different from what I was accustomed seeing and expensive looking. I thought that maybe she was raped or kidnapped and got away."

Hinata listened closely, even though he was sad, she could tell that he was glad to share his story with someone.

"And after that?" she asked.

"Your Oka-san nearly ran me off the road," Hiashi replied. "I was on my way to taking her to the hospital to have her looked at and maybe get some police on the case when she grabbed me from behind and started sniffing and licking at me."

Hinata giggled behind her hands. "Really?"

"Hai. I swerved into a fairly deserted street, afraid she would make me crash and she pounced on me," said Hiashi. "I was so startled by her eyes that I just let her bite me. It was so strange to see someone with eyes like that; clear as water, colorless, without pupils.

"When I came to my senses, she was sitting in the passenger seat looking as though she had committed murder and my wrist was bandaged up with a torn piece of her dress. I was so shaken that I yelled at her for awhile, trying to find out why she bit me…"

*

* * *

_"You don't just go around biting people! Are you mad!" shouted Hiashi. His head was spinning and he was starting to wonder if she had given him something. "I'm going to go to the hospital right now. Who knows what disease you could have given me."_

_Hiashi was fighting himself not to throw her out of his car for the shit she had pulled. _

_"Gomen," the girl said, looking at him. _

_Hiashi couldn't tear his eyes away from her face. She was flawless save for the few smudge marks. Her bronzed skin was so even and contrasted with her eyes. The orbs were so pale, he had to wonder if she could see, but they were so beautiful. _

_Her hair was in disarray around her shoulders. Hiashi had never seen someone with hair so black before. He thought his hair was almost as dark as it got but hers was so black it looked blue as it fell like a curtain around her heart shaped face, past her shoulders and probably past her hips as well. Who kept their hair that long these days?_

_ He shook his head as the throb from his wrist brought him back to his senses._

_"Sorry isn't going to help heal the holes in my wrist!" he said with a raised voice. "Why did you do it?!"_

_"I can't tell you that," the girl said, looking away. _

_Hiashi grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Don't tell me that crap! Do you have any idea who I am?"_

_"Iie."_

_The way she said it made Hiashi realize that she really was not from Konoha._

_"Where are you from?" he asked her._

_"I can't tell you that."_

_"Why not?!" Hiashi asked heatedly._

_"Because I am not supposed to speak of my clan," she replied._

_"Your clan?" asked Hiashi. "Listen, woman, I don't know what the fuck you're trying to pull with me but I want some answers!"_

_The girl shuddered under his gaze and temper as he held her shoulders._

_"I can't tell you!" she insisted. "My mother would be displeased."_

_"I don't give a damn about what your mother thinks," said Hiashi. "I'm worried about the sick joke you're trying to pull here."_

_"I cannot reveal to you anything about my clan," the brunette told him._

_Hiashi scratched his head, trying not to pull out his hair in frustration. No one had really gotten him so riled up befor;, he was sure someone set this up to irritate him._

_"What is your name?" he asked._

_"I cannot-"_

_Hiashi grew frustrated. "Dammit! You are going to tell me your name, where you are from and why you bit me or I swear-"_

_"I'm a vampire!" she screamed at him. _

_Hiashi stared at her with a blank face. "You have got to be kidding me," he said. "Is that really the answer you want to tell me?"_

_"I am telling you the truth," she said. "My name is Lyvi and I am the daughter of Naomi, the leader of the Hitomi clan. I cannot; however, inform you of my clan's whereabouts."_

_They way she spoke made everything sound like the truth. She could have told him the sky was green and he would look up expecting it to be. _

_But a vampire?_

_"Do you honestly think I'm going to believe you are a vampire from some faraway land?" asked Hiashi. "I'm two hours late for work because I was foolish enough to stop for you and this is what you have to tell me?!"_

_"I am telling you the truth," Lyvi—if that was her real name—told him. She locked eyes with him. "I am most grateful to you for stopping. Others passed me but you were the only person who helped me. Surely, I will see if you can be rewarded."_

_"And now you're making me regret it," Hiashi said, not bothering to reply to the reward part. "I helped you and you repaid me by nearly making me run off the road and then you bit me, to spew out mythical nonsense."_

_Hiashi was not even sure why he was wasting so much time with the girl. He turned away from her and started the car._

_"Where are we going?" she asked him._

_"To the police," he informed her. She may be beautiful but she could also be a criminal for all he knew._

_"Iie!" Lyvi said in alarm as he drove off. She grabbed his arm, making him run over the sidewalk before slamming his feet on the breaks. It was a good thing there weren't any cars or people nearby._

_"Are you trying to get us killed?!" Hiashi yelled. _

_"I don't want to go to your law enforcements," Lyvi said. "They will not believe me and may place me somewhere awful."_

_Hiashi laughed. "Guess what? _I _don't believe you either! You have been acting like you're on the run from the time I picked you up and I think you should really get your head checked."_

_Lyvi looked at him fearfully. "I am begging you not to take me there. I just want to get away from my clan for awhile."_

_Hiashi sighed. What was he getting himself into?_

_He started the car again and looked the girl's way. "Fine," he said. "I won't take you to the police."_

_Lyvi's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked him._

_"Really."_

_*_

_Hiashi didn't know why he was doing it, but he drove the familiar road back to his house. After calling in sick, he turned to Lyvi who was sitting cross-legged on his couch after going to the bathroom to wash her face. He walked over to her and sat in the space next to her, careful not to get too close._

_"Do you want something to eat?" he offered. If he was going to be nice for once in his life, why not go all the way?_

_"Something to eat?" Lyvi echoed. "I am not sure."_

_"Listen, it's either you want something to eat or you don't," Hiashi said irate. _

_"I will try to eat."_

_Hiashi got up from his seat and went to the kitchen. As he got some soda from the fridge and a rice cake, he made sure to keep her in his line of sight at all times until he walked back to her with the food._

_"Here."_

_Lyvi looked at the items in her hand with curiosity and then sniffed the rice cake, only to turn up her nose as she put the soda on the table in front of her._

_Hiashi glared at how she was examining the food._

_"Look, if you're going to be picky don't eat at all," he said. "Take it or leave it."_

_"Gomen," said Lyvi and took a deep breath, taking a bite of the cake. She chewed and swallowed thickly as Hiashi watched her and then slapped her hand to her mouth. _

_"Nani? It's not bad or anything," said Hiashi, but he barely got the words out before Lyvi was running to the bathroom and he heard retching noises. _

_Sure, it was simple food and she talked as thought she came from royalty but it wasn't worth all the fuss she made._

_Running to the bathroom, he saw what was the most alarming thing that had happened for the day. Lyvi was on her knees by the toilet vomiting nothing but blood. Not even the mouthful of food was to be seen – not that he was looking that closely. The sight and coppery smell alone made him want to throw up as well but he held it in and walked towards the girl, holding her hair back as she dry heaved after a while._

_What if she was sick and really gave him something by biting him? Vomiting blood was not normal in the least._

_Hiashi held Lyvi up, seeing as she was now so weak that she could not even stand and washed her face, then proceeded to help her wash out her mouth. He lifted her up and carried her to the spare room where he laid her on the bed. It was times like these that he was glad he moved out of his parents' large home._

_The only problem was that Lyvi was not letting him go._

_"Let go," he said and repeated himself when he tried to detach his arm from hers. Lyvi shook her head and whimpered._

_"Food…" she said weakly. "…not good."_

_Hiashi was about to ask her what she meant but the words died on his lips as soon as she grabbed him and tore holes in his other wrist. _

_Hiashi watched, once again, with wide eyes as she sucked on the area and he felt his blood leaving his body. As Lyvi gave a sigh, Hiashi had to wonder if maybe the girl was telling him the truth after all and she really was a vampire._

_Apparently, she ate… drank her fill and licked at the puncture wounds before she fell into a deep sleep. Hiashi stared down at Lyvi as she slept. He had never been a nice person; he never went out of his way to help others. Why was it that the first time in his life he decided to, it had to turn out like this?_

_And it was a damn pity because he was starting to feel what he never had before as well…_

_

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_

**_That's it for now readers. I'm so sorry once again. I hope that I can get back up to date with everything. I tried my best in the few hours I had. Plus I am very sleepy because I had no sleep last night—this morning. _**

**_I went to the movies with my best friend and her siblings and when we were in the bus, I got hit by something—I have no idea what it was. I went to the doctor and then to the police because by the looks of it, I might have been lucky since suspicions are that someone in the bus was targeted and I was hit instead. The police also believe that it could have been a bullet that barely missed me because it hit the metal pane on the bus window and bent it, cushioning the hit I got on my shoulder, which hurts very badly by the way. I hardly got any sleep as well, seeing as I got home around two-thirty in the morning and then couldn't sleep a wink._**

**_Anyway, I'm glad I'm alive and well and that I was able to write this chapter tonight for you and I really hope you liked it. _**

**_Don't change your views on Barbados; it's still almost crime free and a perfect destination of sun, sea, and sand all year round._**

**_If you have not read _A Happy Ending (now a completed fic)_ or _Hina hime_ please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	36. A Father’s Tale Part 2

**_Hi there readers! I'm so very sorry about not updating last week but my pc was not fixed after all and it crashed on me. Thankfully though, it will be a little longer than usual to make up for the wait; 5500 words according to FF. Well, enough of that, let's get on with the chapter. Sorry about the italics but this is mostly a flashback._**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

**_

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**Chapter 36: A Father's Tale Part 2**

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_Hiashi woke up to find himself in an embrace with Lyvi. From the dreary cast over the room, he could tell that it had been raining. Still not moving, Hiashi observed the girl in his arms. From the looks of it, she could not have been more than twenty; just out of her teens or early twenties. He was twenty eight. Was he too old for her? Why was he thinking about that anyway? It was not like he was attracted to the girl… much._

_Hiashi watched her more; the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed evenly and the way her hair shifted when she blew it away with her soft breaths through her nose and barely parted rosy lips. He did not think it was possible for anyone's eyelashes to be possibly that long, but hers were very long and they brushed against her cheeks as they fluttered. That was nothing; her hair was long as well. Hiashi had to wonder if this girl was human but then again, she had said she was a vampire._

_Whether he believed her or not was not the issue at the moment. He knew that she was not normal at all. She bit him! What person in their right mind would bite another person like that? And drink the blood to top it all off. Either way, he was just surprised at how well he was handling the situation and denied it had anything to do with the girl's attractive nature. _

_Lyvi snuggled up to Hiashi and he backed away quickly, nearly rolling off the bed. With that little push, he got up and secured a blanket around her before he left the room; he had not even gone to his room the night before._

_Feeling light-headed from blood loss, Hiashi made his way to the bathroom to have a bath and then he went to get some breakfast. After last night, he was not sure if he should offer Lyvi some eggs or his arm. Thank goodness she wasn't going for his neck._

_After making breakfast, Hiashi carried it up to his room where he would start his report that had to be handed in by the next day. He also had to make sure everything was going fine at the office and that his father understood his staying at home. Hopefully, his brother would take over until he got back. He could not wait until he would be able to have his very own computer at home so he could have things done easier. _

_He was working on some files when he heard the patter of feet nearby and Lyvi stuck her head in the doorway._

_"Ohayo," she said and Hiashi returned it. "Are you busy?"_

_"Well actually, I am," said Hiashi, but the girl was already through the door and sitting at the edge of his bed, bouncing around, probably to see if it was any softer than the one in the spare bedroom. _

_"What are you doing?" she asked him._

_"Work," was Hiashi's short reply._

_"What are you working on?"_

_"Business."_

_"What do you do?" asked Lyvi. _

_Hiashi stifled the growl in his throat. "I am the Vice president for a law firm," he said."It's the family business."_

_Lyvi looked at him fearfully. "You are law enforcements as well?" she asked him._

_"Not the kind that would send you away," said Hiashi. "I help get you out."_

_Lyvi smiled in relief. "I knew you were a nice man," she said. _

_Silence reigned for a while before Lyvi bombarded him with questions about his work and his life for most of the day. _

_"How old are you?" she asked him when he finally closed the last file of his work._

_"I'm twenty-eight," he said and almost regretted that he did when she gasped. What was her problem? He was not that old._

_"Are you serious?" she asked him._

_"Hai," Hiashi said. "Why is that such a shock?"_

_"You don't look like you are that age," said Lyvi with wide eyes._

_"Nani." He had not even bothered to ask properly from shock himself. He always thought he looked just fine for his age even though he was mostly stressed out from work, but why was that such a big problem? "I don't see what's so bad about that. How old are you? Nineteen? Twenty?"_

_Lyvi looked at him as though he was mad. "Pardon me?" she asked._

_The way she was looking at him, Hiashi hoped to Kami that she was not younger than he had said. He hoped he was not looking at some fifteen year old girl the way he was; he had really started to like her. He begged not to be labeled a pedophile. If she was a minor, he could go to jail._

_"Do I honestly look like nineteen?" the brunette asked him. _

_"Hai."_

_"No wonder Oka-san treats me the way she does," Lyvi huffed. "You would think that at my age she would let me make my own decisions, but you think I am nineteen or twenty so maybe that is how they all view me as well."_

_"What are you talking about?" asked Hiashi, not understanding what she was saying._

_"I am a lot older than you think," Lyvi told him. "I am sixty-three years old. I not too long celebrated my birthday which is why I ran away."_

_Hiashi looked at the girl blankly. "You really need to stop that," he told her. _

_"But I'm telling you the truth," said Lyvi. "I am not some little girl, despite the way I look. Vampires don't age the way humans do apparently."_

_"What are you going on about?" asked Hiashi._

_"Vampires' aging process slows down when we reach the age of twenty one. After that, we age every twenty one years," said Lyvi."After that, you pretty much live forever… or as long as you can," Lyvi explained. "You can say I'm twenty two if you want; one year older than twenty one. Vampires usually find a mate by this age but I am not ready. My mother; however, thinks otherwise. Demo…I want someone I love, not someone who has been chosen for me."_

_"So you really are a vampire?" asked Hiashi. He had not wanted to believe it but there was no way on earth someone could make up such lies and tell them so well. He also felt sorry for her and could understand her 'find true love' attitude. Hell, she was a vampire, a being that only existed in fairytales and books so why not believe in marrying for love? He had never really thought about it, but it would not be so bad to have someone like that._

_ "Can you prove it?" he asked. "That you are really a vampire?"_

_"I should think biting you and what I told you would be enough proof," said Lyvi with a laugh. "But I'll show you something anyway."_

_Lyvi stood up and pulled his arm so he would get up from his chair to sit next to her. She took her wrist to her lips and as she opened her mouth, Hiashi saw her teeth lengthen at an alarming rate. Did she really sink those in his skin? He watched as the fangs pierced her flesh and then she grated her teeth downward to make a long and jagged slash, blood pooling from the wound. Lyvi removed her teeth, letting them return to their normal state and licked the blood from her lips with a smile. "Watch," she told him. _

_Hiashi wanted to tell her not to get any blood on his sheets as she licked away the streams of blood but watched as the skin began to meld, returning to it's previous state, the clotting blood drying at a rapid rate over the once fresh wound. After a couple of seconds the wound was gone, the cut had healed and Lyvi was licking away the dried blood and smudges. She then showed him her wrist and not a scar could be seen._

_"Are you convinced?" she asked him. _

_"More or less," said Hiashi. That was a display he was sure he would never forget._

_

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_

_The next few days flew by quickly as Hiashi and Lyvi got to know more about each other. Hiashi finally accepted what Lyvi was and found that days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. He had fallen in love with Lyvi like he never had before and it scared him._

_His feelings were not what scared him. He knew Lyvi felt the same way. It was the fact that she had run away from home and he could not keep her with him forever because she would eventually have to return home and, true to his thoughts, a knock rapped on his door one day._

_Hiashi and Lyvi had just gotten back from a business party and had settled in when there was a knock at the door. No one usually visited him unless it was his brother, Hizashi, and his wife, Yuuhi. Since his brother had died from illness about a year ago, Yuuhi visited only on weekends to bring over little Neji to play with their four year old daughter, Hinata, even though she herself was taking the death of her husband badly and was not doing too well at all. Hinata was now sleeping in her room, tired from the noise of the party. He swore she looked just like Lyvi even though her eyes were a little darker._

_Hiashi was pleased to know Lyvi was now pregnant again, but it was that fact that made him worry even more. Lyvi said vampires were not supposed to have more than one child but he had really wanted a son and so they risked it. Surely, Lyvi was strong enough to bear another child since she was so healthy after giving birth to Hinata._

_ He was not sure how Lyvi's clan would handle her being pregnant with a human's child or if they would allow him to convert as she told him he could. They both hoped that when the time came, he would be able to and then maybe the clan would allow her to stay with him or vice versa. He wanted nothing more than to have her be with him so they could raise their child together but Lyvi feared her mother would not accept it._

_"I'll get it," said Lyvi, getting up slowly with a slight amount of leverage from Hiashi. He watched her as she got to the door, hand on her stomach as she opened it and gasped._

_Hiashi rushed to see who was at the door and saw a woman he had never seen before. He could tell she was experienced and full of power, the aura radiating from her not pleasant in the least. She was flanked by two others, a male and a female; all three of them with Lyvi's eyes. He could see Lyvi written all over the woman's face and knew she must be her mother._

_"Oka-san," Lyvi got out. "What are you doing here?"_

_The woman looked at Lyvi sternly. "I should ask you the same thing, Lyvi. Invite us in," she said, pushing past both her daughter and Hiashi when she did. She looked around the house with her nose turned up the same way Lyvi had done at food. Hiashi stood in front of Lyvi and the movement caught the woman's eyes. "Who are you?" she demanded._

_"I am Hiashi," he said. "Who are you?"_

_"I am Naomi, Lyvi's mother," the older woman informed him. She looked over his shoulder to Lyvi. "I have been trying to look for you for years now," she said coming closer. She grabbed Lyvi's arm and looked down at her stomach. "Now I can see why I could not. You've let some human breed you! You're blood is nearly as dirty as some mixed blood!"_

_"I'm not an animal!" said Lyvi, tugging her arm away. "Neither are Hiashi or our children!"_

_"Don't you raise your voice to me!" said Naomi. "You've disgraced not only yourself but me and the clan as well. You know we rarely step outside the Red Gate unless necessary, you know we never go near humans, and you have gone beyond overboard by creating a child with one! You have barely started to age!"_

_"Oka-san, I love him!" Lyvi cried. "He loves me too. He's willing to convert, Hinata took the blood I produced for her when she was a baby__**(1)**__ and now she drinks from my wrist once a month even though she still eats food so she's one of us."_

_Naomi paused. "Nani? Who is this 'Hinata'?" Naomi asked."Aren't you pregnant?"_

_"O-oka-san?"_

_All heads turned to see Hinata rubbing her eyes. Her large, pale orbs opened even more at the sight of strangers in the house and ran to her mother, grabbing onto her leg. Lyvi picked her up, shushing her into calm again as she rested her on her hip. _

_"Are we having a p-party here too, Oka-san?" asked Hinata._

_"Iie, Hina," said Lyvi. "These people are your family. They have just come to visit us."_

_"I think not!" said Naomi. _

_"But, Oka-san!" started Lyvi._

_"I said no, Lyvi," Naomi told her daughter. "That 'half-breed' you are holding may share vampire's blood and may drink blood but it is not pure! Neither will the other one if it survives!"_

_"Hinata is a girl, Oka-san!" Lyvi said heatedly. "She is my daughter and not some animal! I gave birth to her and I will not have you speak of her like that! Neither will you speak of my expected child and Hiashi that way!" _

_"Listen here," said Hiashi stepping forward right after. "I will not allow you to stand here in my house and insult me, Lyvi or our children!" he enforced. Hiashi wanted nothing more than to shove the woman out of his house along with the two silent vampires with her._

_"Do you know who you are talking to?!" asked Naomi angrily. "I will say as I please, when and where I please!"_

_Naomi turned to Lyvi as though Hiashi had not said anything. "You will return home immediately."_

_"Nani?!" said Lyvi. "I will not!"_

_"Yes, you will!" Naomi said shrilly. "I will not have my daughter holed up in such a place living with a human. Look at you! As thin as a rake, clearly you're not getting the blood you need. You will return home, Lyvi."_

_"You're not taking her anywhere," said Hiashi, he moved to block Lyvi and Hinata from Naomi. Hinata started to cry, gripping to her mother to get away from the harsh voices._

_"You're walking on some very thin ice," the older woman told him. "I can have you killed. Right now, you're putting my daughter, the next heir to be leader of the clan in danger. You are risking her respect by living with her without being mates—not that I will permit you to be converted—and you are risking her life by having more than one offspring. Lyvi knows this She knows her duties are heir!"_

_The house was silent, except for the sniffs from Hinata, until Lyvi spoke. "I will return with you," she said softly._

_Hiashi turned to her sharply as she tried to calm down Hinata. "What are you saying?" he said softly, so as not to upset their daughter anymore than she was. _

_Lyvi stepped away from him and stared at her mother. "I will return to the clan under certain circumstances," she said._

_"And what are those?" asked Naomi with folded arms._

_"Hiashi and Hinata will come with me," said Lyvi. "And I will no longer have to be the mate of anyone but him."_

_"Do you know what you are asking?" asked Naomi. "You are asking that I allow a _human_ and it's offspring to live among pure blood vampires. Have you lost your mind?"_

_"No, I have not," said Lyvi. Hiashi watched her from behind and hoped that she knew what she was doing._

_Naomi sighed. "The clan will never accept them, Lyvi," said Naomi. "I do not and neither will they."_

_"I do not care," said Lyvi. _

_"Here it is," said Naomi. "It is either this or no questions asked, I _will_ have you removed from this human and the child you will never see them again, and when you bear the other child he shall have that one as well. I'm tired of you defying my every word!"_

_Lyvi nodded, rocking Hinata in her arms slightly. "What is it?" she asked._

_"You return with the child," said Naomi. "You cannot leave it here-"_

_"'Her, Hinata," Lyvi cut in._

_"You cannot leave' her' here," said Naomi. "But he cannot live with us."_

_"Why not?" asked Lyvi hotly._

_"He is not one of us!" said Naomi. "The child has some pure blood in her veins, as much as I hate to say it, but he does not."_

_"So what will happen?" asked Lyvi._

_"He shall visit you and the child twice a year," said Naomi._

_"Twice a year?! I refuse!" said Lyvi. _

_"Then what do you expect?!" asked Naomi._

_"Once a day," said Lyvi._

_"Are you silly, girl? Once a month when the gate opens," said Naomi._

_"Once a week then?" asked Lyvi._

_"Fine! He is the father to your children," said Naomi. "Once a week and I bargain no more."_

_Lyvi looked to the floor, her midnight hair cascading around both hers and Hinata's faces. Hiashi walked behind them both and hugged her. He knew that he could not keep her away from her clan forever, as much as he wanted to._

_"It's ok," he said. She had shown him a world he had never known and if he could share that world with her once a week then he was content to see her at all. The only reason he would see her at all was because she was the daughter of the leader and he had to accept that. "It's fine by me."_

_Lyvi looked back at him and kissed him briefly, ignoring the disgusted noises from her mother; it seemed the other two were not allowed to do anything but breathe. Lyvi looked back at her mother._

_"Will Hinata be allowed to live as I had?" she asked."My privileges? To have friends?"_

_"You know the others will not have their children mix with her," said Naomi."You know she will be treated as an outcast, despite her being your daughter and the only reason you will be taken back is because of your status as heir. You can smell her from a mile away that she is not as clean as we are—or at least 'we' are excluding you."_

_Lyvi bit her lip in thought, apparently holding back from saying anything on her mother's remark. "Hiashi's brother has a son," she said. "Maybe Hiashi can bring him along to play with Hinata. She loves him a lot and they are very close."_

_"You want me to approve of a human's child entering through the gate?" asked Naomi._

_"Hai," said Lyvi. "Do this for me."_

_Naomi's eyes softened. "I will grant what you wish. I will have someone come for you tomorrow. Bring nothing of this place with you. You will be given clothing."_

_"What about Hiashi?" asked Lyvi. _

_"He has to come as well," said Naomi. "He won't be able to find us otherwise. He is only human after all."_

_Hiashi held back any comment he was about to make. He just had to take everything in stride. Lyvi had told him about this woman and as far as he could tell, she was not someone to be dealt with. Even though he wanted to kick her out, he knew that it could mean not seeing Lyvi or his children again._

_Naomi and the two other vampires walked past them to the door. "We leave," said the woman and in a loud buzz of what looked like hornets, they were gone._

_Lyvi turned to Hiashi and embraced him, her warm belly pressing to his own stomach. Hinata held onto him as well as though she knew how hard life would be for them from that moment on._

_*  
_

_The agreement only lasted a couple more months, Lyvi dying after giving birth to Hanabi, but Hiashi could say that he would never find anyone like her again and those few years he spent with her were some of the best in his life. Yuuhi died not too long after Lyvi had, leaving Hiashi to care for three children without any help._

_

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_

"I really did hope we could have been together for longer than we had," said Hiashi. Hinata could tell that it took a lot out of him to relive what had happened but she was glad he did. It was nice to hear about her mother and she hoped that in time Hanabi would be able to as well. "I also apologize again for the way I treated you, Hanabi, and Neji."

"It's fine," said Hinata. "You were kinda young."

"That brings me to what we have been talking about," said Hiashi. "You both are too young to be mates, Hinata. Your mother was over eighty when we met and I was nearly thirty."

"That's not my fault," said Hinata. "Gomen, but we have already made the decision and it can't be reversed now."

Hinata got up and walked around the chair until she was behind Hiashi and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yurushite kudasai, Otou-san." **_(2)_**

Hiashi touched her hands with his own in defeat. "There's nothing to forgive," he said. "I understand how you feel and I'll have to accept the fact that my little girl- both my little girls and nephew- are growing up."

Hinata kissed his cheek. "Arigato."

Leaving her father and feeling quite happy, Hinata skipped all the way to her room where Neji was waiting for her.

"How did it go?" he asked her.

"You knew?" Hinata asked.

"Hai, I tried to keep Oji-san inside but he went out anyway and then I saw you pull up with Sasuke a little afterward," said Neji. "Is he okay with you being with Sasuke?"

Hinata smiled and hugged him, kissing him full on the lips. "He did more than that," said Hinata after she bit her tongue. "He accepts that me and Sasuke are mates!"

Neji looked at her, stunned. "Really?"

"Hai!"

"That's probably the best thing you could hope for," said Neji before he pulled away. "How come you were able to kiss me?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Hinata.

"If you haven't noticed, we haven't been that close since you became a stage three vampire," said Neji. "I think because you and Sasuke are mates now, some sort of barrier had been put up towards other males. I read that you shouldn't have that sort of contact because of that fact."

Hinata quickly kissed him again. "Are you sure?" she asked. "It works just fine because I don't feel anything."

"Hai," said Neji. "That's what the book said. Maybe it has to do with consent then? When I had first hugged you after you turned, I felt something like a warning. I didn't feel it just now."

"Maybe," said Hinata. "Well that's good. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't be close to you anymore."

"Same here," said Neji. "Well, I'm going to my room now. We'll talk about the couple days you spent at 'Ino's tomorrow."

"Oyasuminasai, Itoko," said Hinata with a smile as he departed.

"Oyasuminasai," Neji replied. "Have fun talking to Sasuke."

"I will."

After Neji was gone, Hinata flopped on her bed with a loud sigh. So much had happened for the day; it was hard to take it all in. She got out her laptop and chatted for awhile with some of her friends and told Sasuke about what had happened after he had left and then told him about what her father had told her about her mother.

**Candyapple_7: Can u believe my mother was 63 when she met my father?**

**Flames_13: That's it?**

**Candyapple_7: wat do u mean?**

**Flames_13: I was expecting her to be older than that.**

**Candyapple_7: did u c the number I just typed? I said SIXTY THREE!**

**Flames_13: I'm not blind I saw. **

Hinata was at a loss of what to say.

**Flames_13: my mother was 84, a year older than your mother when she met my father. Maybe purebloods mate a year earlier than mixed bloods.**

**Candyapple_7: wow! And u never told me?**

**Flames_13: I thought u knew about the way vampires aged.**

Hinata thought for awhile.

**Candyapple_13: so how old is Itachi?**

**Flames_13: He hasn't even aged a year yet. Or he isn't '22' yet but in human years he's about 30 I think.**

**Candyapple_7: ohhh. So that's y he doesn't look like he's much older than us. U all r very sneaky getting him into school at his age.**

**Flames_13: yea.**

**Candyapple_7: n u?**

**Flames_13: I knew u'd ask. I was human just like you remember? We're goin' 2 age after 21 from now on.**

"Oh yea," Hinata said out loud.

Hinata talked to Sasuke long after that until she was barely able to keep her eyes open.

**Candyapple_7: I'm so sleepy.**

**Flames_13: it's fine. I'm sleepy 2. U wanna go now? U have a big day 2morrow.**

**Candyapple_7: oh yea! I keep 4getting lol! **

**Flames_13: so will I be able 2 c u 2morrow?**

**Candyapple_7: hai. I'm sure my father won't mind.**

**Flames_13: great, I'll c u 2morrow then.**

**Candyapple_7: k, bai bai.**

Hinata was about to sign off when another message popped up.

**Flames_13: oh, n Hinata?**

**Candyapple_7: hai?**

**Flames_13: Happy b'day. I luv u.**

Hinata's face lit up as she replied.

**Candyapple_7: thx, I luv u 2, Sasuke : )**

Both Hinata and Sasuke signed offline and Hinata went to have a bath and had her wrist before going to bed. She wondered what was in store for her tomorrow.

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**_And that's the end of the chapter readers! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I hope you learned some things in this chapter as well. I'm so sorry about not updating last week but I made up for it by making this a little longer, ne? _**

**_I hope I didn't make any mistakes with the ages. I kept changing them around so let me know if you see an error or if you don't understand something else._**

**_(1) In this fic and my imagination, vampires breast feed like humans do but instead of milk, they produce extra blood for their infants that is rich in all a child would need to be healthy. Also, the infants nurse until the age of three. After that, they feed off their parents' blood until they are ready to take blood for their own-- or in purebloods' cases, have blood ready for them by feeders-- having both the mother and father bite their wrist to give them, but since Hiashi is not a vampire, he lets Lyvi do the feeding because he can't give both Lyvi and hinata blood without being severly drained and the latter would get his blood through Lyvi anyway. If I made any mistakes in that, tell me since I changed up that a bit as well, rethinking for quite some time before leaving it as it is.  
_**

**_(2) Yurushite kudasai - Please forgive me._**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_ or _A Happy Ending_ (now a completed fic) please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	37. Birthday Girl

**_Hi there readers! Long time, ne? I'm sorry about that but I did post my new fic last week instead of this one if that means anything. Hmm, my internet is not at its best right now for some reason but I can only hope that when it's time for me to update, I'll be able to. I'm sorry about updating a day late but I got home late last night and then I had an interview to go to this morning. That said, let's begin and hope I get over this massive block *sigh*_**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

**_

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**Chapter 37: Birthday Girl**

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Hinata woke up to being nearly suffocated.

"C-can't breathe!" she stuttered. "Hanabi! You're really heavy!"

"Happy birthday, Aneko!"

Hinata smiled as she pushed off her younger sister. She sat up just as Neji sat down at the edge of the bed, her father was standing.

Looking towards her window, she saw the sky was now fading to the grey light before dawn.

She rubbed her eyes. "Arigatou," she said. "Aren't you all up a little early?"

"We wanted to surprise you," said Neji.

"You certainly did, waking up this early," Hinata told them.

"We all got you presents," said Hiashi.

Hanabi was first, giving her fifty dollars. Neji told her he'd carry her to get her license and pay the fee for her. Hiashi gave her a key.

Hinata had a good idea of what the key was for but she asked what it was anyway.

"Why don't you get ready and come see me outside," her father said with a smile and ushered both Neji and Hanabi outside, the latter grinning from ear to ear.

Hinata bit her wrists quickly, got up and had a bath before getting ready. When she was done, she grabbed the keys from the top of the drawer as she left. She skipped through her bedroom, hopped down the stairs and skipped to the front door, hardly able to contain her happiness.

When she opened the door, Hinata thought her heart had stopped. Her face split into a grin to rival Naruto's as she stared at the car her father was standing next to with Neji and Hanabi.

"What are you waiting for?" Hiashi asked her and Hinata came forward in a daze as she took in her gift.

Hinata gripped the keys in her hands tightly, feeling the blunt metal dig into her palms as she came closer.

"This is the Corvette z06," Hiashi announced. "A bit too much for you, I think, but I figured I can't have my daughter driving around with that boy while she doesn't have a car of her own so I got you something better. Happy birthday."

Hinata nodded wordlessly as Hiashi opened the door for her and she got in the beautiful Ivory colored car behind the wheel.

She knew half the reason why her father had gotten her the car was for his own pride, to prove that he could provide a better, more expensive car than the vampires had for Sasuke. Nevertheless, she was glad he got it.

"How did you manage to get it so soon?" Hinata asked him.

"I made a couple calls to make sure you got it today," said Hiashi. "It cost quite a lot on its own but then I had to pay extra to get it here last night even though it was Boxing Day."

He shut the door and turned to Neji. "Go with her. She's going to test it out and I don't want her driving alone."

Hinata beamed as Neji walked around the front and got in the passenger seat, and then shut the door.

Fingers trembling and fumbling, Hinata pushed the key in the ignition and turned. The engine turned over and roared to life, the rumbling going straight through her as she put one hand on the wheel, one on the gear stick.

"You can't drive shaking like that," said Neji quietly so Hiashi couldn't hear him with a smirk. "Calm down."

Hinata took a deep breath, blowing through her nose. "Hai, let's go for a drive," she said.

There was a tap on the glass, her father's voice muffled. "Hold it."

Hinata looked at her father through the glass and rolled it down to hear what he wanted.

"I don't want you drawing attention to yourself," he said.

"The car does that on its own," said Hanabi.

"Well, yes," Hiashi agreed. "What I mean is that you have to remember you don't have your license yet and I'm only letting you drive it today because it's your birthday present. Don't go doing anything silly, alright?"

"Hai," said Hinata.

He looked at Neji now. "I'm sure you can be a better instructor than that _boyfriend_ of hers, right?"

"Of course," said Neji.

"Good, see you both in a while then," the man said, giving them both a wide smile that threw his face in handsome relief. It was good to see him smile like that after so many years.

Hinata smiled back and waved before revving the car and then shifted in reverse. The car shot backwards and Hinata slammed on the breaks.

"I hadn't expected it to react to such a light touch," said Hinata with a nervous chuckle.

She looked at her father and sister and gave them the thumbs up before shifting the gear into drive. With a beep of the horn and a wave through the window from Neji, they were on the road.

"Oh Kami!" Hinata said excitedly as she gripped the wheel. "I can't believe this!"

She could see Neji checking out the beige interior of the car, flicking switches and pushing buttons from the corner of her eye. "This is really nice," he said. "Oji-san really made sure to top Sasuke, didn't he?"

Hinata laughed. "I have a feeling there's going to be more of that in the future."

Neji looked at his surroundings. "So where are you taking us?" he asked. "Although I think I know."

Hinata paused a little. "I'm stopping by Sasuke's," she said.

"See?" I knew it."

Shrugging, Hinata drifted into the next lane. "You heard Otou-san. This is the only time I'll be driving until I get my license. I'll have to take official driving lessons and stuff before I get it and that can take up to two months."

Neji nodded. "That's true. Slow down a little, you're going a little fast."

Hinata eased her foot up. "Gomen."

"Don't worry," said Neji. "In a couple months you'll be able to go as fast as you want."

She couldn't wait. When she got her license, Hinata planned to call up Sasuke and speed down a deserted highway at three in the morning like in the movies. Most likely, with the way Sasuke was, she could bet he would have a whole lot planned for them to do at three in the morning. She laughed at the thought, her cheeks tinted.

"What are you laughing about now?" asked Neji.

Hinata glanced at him. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Iie," said Neji. "I don't think I want to know now either because somehow, I think it has something to do with Sasuke."

---

Hinata drove down Sasuke's street and pulled up in front of the house, seeing Naruto wash his car.

At the loud rumble, Naruto looked up and his jaw dropped comically at the sight of the car and then his eyes all but popped out his head at who was driving and who was in the passenger seat, but Hinata figured it was more at the former.

"Oh Kami!! Sasuke!"

Hinata came to a full halt as Naruto ran to the house, dropping the bucket of water he had while washing his car. Hinata and Neji laughed as he hobbled as fast as he could with his pants threatening to drop off his butt in his haste to get through the door.

She had not even had the chance to open the door when Naruto came back through the door half dragging, half carrying Sasuke while pointing in her direction.

"Do you see that?!" he asked his best friend as they both stood outside the open door that Sai, Karin, and Kin were now filling to look out from curiosity; Itachi was probably not at home.

They all stared blankly while Naruto pushed and pulled Sasuke almost into insanity until the brunet shoved him away. "What is wrong with you?!" he yelled back at Naruto. "It's just Hina…ta."

The realization dawned on Sasuke's face as plain as day and his eyes widened as well, much to Hinata and Neji's amusement. Hinata's name was echoed by the other three before Sasuke started to come her way.

Naruto beat him there, running around the car once before stopping by her window.

"Hinata! Where did you get this car?! You're not even allowed to drive legally yet!"

Naruto was promptly pushed aside by Sasuke with a slight grin. "What he said," Sasuke told her, nodding his head in the blond's direction who was being pried off Sasuke's back by Karin.

Hinata giggled. "My father got it for me for my birthday," said Hinata. "I'm only allowed to drive it today for a little while until I get my license."

"That's cool," said Sasuke. "How long are you supposed to be out?"

"Just a little while," said Hinata. "He doesn't want me getting in trouble."

"So he gave his seventeen year old daughter who doesn't have a license a sports car and told her to drive around for a couple hours?" asked Sasuke.

Hinata laughed, more at the fact that it sounded strange to be seventeen. Now she would have to get used to it before having to get used to then being eighteen this time next year. "Well it _is_ my birthday and he's trying to be nice."

"I think he knew you'd come over here to show Sasuke," said Neji, who had been quiet until then.

"Hai," Hinata agreed, turning to Neji and back to Sasuke. "It seemed that way."

"Hn!"

Sasuke was bounced aside when Naruto broke free.

"Can we go for a ride with you?" he asked. Karin and the others looked at her expectantly.

Hinata shook her head. "I wish I could but a bunch of teenagers in a sports car will definitely draw attention," she said.

"Idiot, after being pulled over by the police so many times when I allowed you to drive yesterday, you'd think you would have known that," said Sasuke as he once again shoved Naruto out of the way.

"So are you going to come over later?" Sasuke asked her.

"I plan to," said Hinata. "I don't know if my father will buy me saying I'm going over to Ino's since he knows about you now though."

"Neji will cover for you," said Sasuke. "Won't you?"

Hinata turned to Neji and saw he was about to say no. She quickly gave him a pleading look. "Please, Neji."

"Only because Hinata asked," said Neji shortly.

Hinata grinned and leaned across to kiss him on the cheek, not missing the unmistakable growl like sound coming from Sasuke. "Arigatou!"

Seeing the narrowing of Neji's eyes, Hinata turned to see Sasuke eyes were tinted red. "What the matter?" she asked him, even though she already knew.

"Nothing," said Sasuke; his eyes returned to their normal shade. "I'll see you again soon then?"

"Hai."

"Good. Remember I have something for you," said Sasuke.

Hinata nodded and started the car. "I'll see you later," she said. "Bye!" she said as she waved to the others.

"Bye! Happy birthday!" they all replied.

Hinata turned around in the driveway before driving off with another wave.

She couldn't wait to get back to Sasuke and see what he'd gotten for her. She fingered her cross unconsciously.

"Hey both hands on the wheel," Neji reprimanded.

"Hai, hai," Hinata said a little exasperatedly. "I don't need you to tell me every time, you know."

---

Hinata drove around for about a half hour more before heading back home. Her father and Hanabi were sitting out front waiting for them to return and Hinata and Neji smiled to see them talking and laughing.

"Hanabi seems to have gotten over whatever it was that was bothering her since Oji-san came back," said Neji as Hinata parked in the driveway.

"I noticed it as well," said Hinata. "She still goes to the bathroom regularly though."

"Let's hope she doesn't go back to before your father came."

Hinata and Neji got out and went in the direction of her father and Hanabi.

"How was it?" asked Hiashi.

"It was great," said Hinata. "Thank you so much."

Hiashi held out his hand for the keys and Hinata reluctantly gave them to him.

"Although you can drive pretty well, I'm going to hold onto these until you get you license and send the car away to be taken care of until you can drive it legally," he told her. "I don't want to tempt you by keeping it here."

They spent quite some time outside just enjoying the beautiful day and then went inside for lunch.

Of course, Hinata watched as they ate as she bit her tongue but she had not had foreign blood since the day before and she was getting steadily thirstier. She found herself constantly following the movement of Neji's hands, particularly his wrists. If he didn't hurry up and eat, she was sure she would grab his hand and take his wrist in front everyone.

Thinking fast, she came up with an idea. "Neji," she said suddenly. "I completely forgot to tell you but I can't figure out something on the computer."

"The laptop I gave you?" asked Hiashi.

"Hai," Hinata quickly said, not thinking.

"Go bring it down then so he can take a look," said Hanabi.

"Iie, if something's wrong with it so soon I should take it back and have it replaced," said Hiashi.

"It's charging?" Hinata more asked than said. "It's nothing bad, just a new program I'm not sure about."

Neji stood up after catching her quick desperate glance his way. "Come on," he said. "I was finished eating anyway."

"May we be excused?" asked Hinata as she stood as well.

"Go ahead."

Hinata and Neji walked away calmly and ascended the stairs to go to her room.

"What's the matter?" asked Neji. "Are you thirsty?"

"Hai," said Hinata, it was almost a whine.

"I could tell," said Neji. "I caught you looking at my hands the whole time."

"Do you think Otou-san saw?" asked Hinata.

"Probably, he's very observant and must have noticed the scars and bruises by now but even if he did, he let us leave."

Neji opened the door and allowed Hinata to go in first before going in himself.

"You could have bitten Sasuke earlier, you know," said Neji. "And you will no doubt when you go over there."

Hinata flopped on the bed. "Are you saying you don't want me to bite you?" asked Hinata.

"I just saw the way Sasuke looked when you kissed me earlier," said Neji.

"I did too," said Hinata. "But he knows we're kinda close and he's trying to accept it." She patted the area next to her. "Come, I'm starving."

Neji came over and sat down, holding out his wrist for Hinata and as she raised his hand to her mouth, baring her teeth, Hinata found she could go no further.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Neji.

"I can't," said Hinata and she really couldn't. As much as she wanted to bite Neji, she couldn't move to close to distance and take his wrist. She let it go.

"It seems that look Sasuke gave me did mean something," said Neji. "Did you see when his eyes turned red?"

Hinata nodded as she remembered how Sasuke's eyes had changed when she kissed Neji on his cheek. "Do you think he is the reason I can't bite you?" asked Hinata.

"It looks that way," said Neji. "Here, try again."

Hinata licked her fangs at she looked at the veins running through Neji's hand when her mark appeared but once again, she was about to bite him but hesitated.

Sighing, Hinata took out her phone to call Sasuke, the mark fading.

* * *

Sasuke was lying in bed trying to ignore Naruto's loud voice.

From morning Naruto had abandoned Karin to annoy him for a little while about his time away from home with Hinata. He had been in his room when he had come home but was probably too busy with his girlfriend to bombard him then, choosing now to do it.

"Please tell me what happened," begged Naruto as he inched closer. "I tell you what I do all the time."

Sasuke sat up.

"It's not like I ask you what you do with Karin," said Sasuke. "Trust me, I don't _want_ to know, but with your loud voice and crazy habits I hear what you two do long before you force it through my ears afterwards."

It was true. Naruto had a habit of telling him in disturbingly vivid detail, all of what he and Karin got up to. He sometimes found it hard to look at the girl without all the atrocious images surfacing. If Karin knew what Naruto told him on a daily basis, she would probably die from shame.

"Plus I don't like discussing my girlfriend," Sasuke added.

"So what? She was my girlfriend too, you know," said Naruto.

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. "Ugh! Don't remind me."

Naruto jumped up and tackled him. "You bastard!" he shouted. "Just tell me what happened. At least where you went."

Sasuke sighed in defeat. "Fine, get off me. I'm thirsty and I really don't feel like drinking your blood."

"Why not!" yelled Naruto. "I should think I taste good, Karin says she can't get enough-"

"We went to a cabin!" Sasuke said quickly, trying to shut up Naruto.

The blond remained seated on his stomach as he stared down at Sasuke with a wicked grin. "Ahhh, I see," he said knowingly. "Did you get some?"

Sasuke bucked Naruto right off him, not wanting to have that conversation. "It's none of your business," he answered.

"So you did!" Naruto said loudly and then squealed, pulling Sasuke from the ground, he pulled him onto the bed to sit with him, staring at him with glee. "My little Sasuke's growing up and I must say it's about time!"

Sasuke ignored him.

"Wasn't it the best thing you ever felt in your whole life?!" Naruto asked him excitedly. "Unless you somehow screwed it up. But knowing you, you probably had it all down, ne, Mr. Hot Stuff?"

Sasuke fought down the blush he knew was teetering nearby. "Whatever, believe what you want but I'm not telling you."

Naruto rolled his eyes before holding out his hand to Sasuke, who looked at him blankly.

"You're thirsty, aren't you?" the blond asked.

Sasuke shrugged. Even though Hinata was going to be over later, he couldn't wait that long and she was probably feasting on Neji anyway.

With that thought in mind, Sasuke took Naruto's hand and watched as his best friend squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for him to drink. Just as his teeth were about to pierce the skin, his phone rang.

"This better be good," Sasuke said more to himself than Naruto. "I'm really thirsty."

Not even looking to see who the call was from, he flipped it to answer. "Nani?"

_"Sasuke?"_

It was Hinata.

His mood immediately lightened up. "Hey, what's up?"

Naruto chose that moment to fan his wrist in front Sasuke's face, making him feel slightly dizzy. "Will you stop that!"

_"What's going on?"_ asked Hinata.

"Naruto's trying to feed me while I'm on the phone," said Sasuke.

_"That's not fair," _Hinata said. _"Because I've been trying to bite Neji but I can't and I'm thirsty."_

Sasuke was about to smack Naruto on the head but stopped midway as his interest was caught. "What do you mean you can't bite him?"

_"Just that. I tried to take his wrist just now but I can't bring myself to,"_ Hinata told him. _"We think you have something to do with that."_

"How could I have something to do… ahh."

Sasuke went silent as he recalled the possessive feeling he had when Hinata was too close to Neji earlier. He could remember blanking out all thoughts for a minute before returning to normal at the thought that she was his anyway.

_"Sasuke?"_

"Hai," he answered. "Listen, I think you're right that I might have had something to do with it. When you were close to Neji in the car, it felt strange."

_"So it _is_ you," _said Hinata_. "Do you know how thirsty I am? I haven't had foreign blood since yesterday."_

"You could always just come over now," Sasuke suggested.

_"I guess so,"_ Hinata replied. "But what about when you're not there? You can take blood from Naruto."

Well, Hinata did have a point. It was not fair that he have Naruto when he was thirsty when he seemed to unconsciously forbid Hinata to take Neji's blood.

"So are you coming over?" he asked her.

_"I'll get Neji to bring me over,"_ she said. _"I'll see you soon."_

They both hung up.

"What was that about?" asked Naruto.

"None of your business," said Sasuke.

"Damn you!" yelled Naruto. "Just for that, I'm not giving you any blood!"

"Che, like I care," said Sasuke. "Hinata is coming over soon."

Naruto stuck out his bottom lip and walked to the door. "Well I'm going where I'm wanted and loved."

"Because it isn't in here," Sasuke called after Naruto who slammed the door.

He then got up and started cleaning up his bedroom since Hinata would be over soon and then he went on the computer to listen to some music until Hinata arrived.

---

Sasuke had been completely deaf to the world when he sensed Hinata outside his door and took off his headphones to hear her knocking.

"Come in," he said.

With a smile, Hinata came through the door.

Sasuke got up, looking her up and down as he walked closer to her. He did not think he would get used to seeing her wearing his cross. "What took you so long?" he asked her.

"My father took awhile to believe me and Neji when we told him I was going over to Ino's and only agreed to me leaving if he picks me up since Neji brought me here. Plus, we had a little party just between us with cake and everything even though I couldn't eat it," said Hinata. "Do you mind dropping me off at Ino later?"

"Hai, I don't have a problem with that."

"And about me not biting Neji-"

"I let that go," Sasuke said before Hinata finished.

He had tried with all his might and even though he could not let go of the fact that he didn't want Hinata biting some other man though it was her cousin, he accepted that he couldn't always be there to give blood when she needed it and vice versa. "I think you can bite him when you want now."

"Arigatou, you're the best," said Hinata. "What do you want to do?"

Sasuke closed the distance between them and hugged Hinata as tight as possible without crushing her. He inhaled her scent deeply. "Happy birthday," he breathed.

Hinata hugged him back just as tightly. "You told me that already," she said.

"I know," Sasuke said, letting her go. He backed her as he went to his drawer. He took out the small box he was looking for. He hid it behind his back as he went to the bed and sat down. "Come here," he said. "I have something for you."

Hinata inched closer and sat next to him. "What is it?" she asked him.

"I wanted to get you something that was uncommon," Sasuke answered, not telling yet. "Humans certainly won't have this and vampires don't do this very often either so I hope you like it."

He held out the box to Hinata, who took it with shaky hands. She uncovered it and grinned. "Wow! Sasuke you didn't have to do this!" she said excitedly. She took out the bracelet that matched the necklace with trembling fingers.

Sasuke took it from her and fastened it on her left wrist before bringing her hand to his lips to kiss it. Thirst ran through him as soon as he did and from her pulse quickening, Hinata had been affected as well by the close proximity.

Suddenly, there was a thump and a loud sound coming from another room.

Hinata's eyes widened.

"I hope that's not who I think it is," she whispered with a blush. That had unmistakably Naruto and Karin.

"It is," said Sasuke with a sigh. "I don't know why they can't behave like normal people. I'm surprised he isn't dead yet from the way he says she always has her teeth in him."

Hinata laughed. "Soon he won't have to worry since he's going to convert soon, right?" said Hinata.

"Hai, Itachi told me he'll start as soon as the New Year starts," said Sasuke. Whatever else he wanted to say completely flew from his mind as he heard more sounds, this time coming from Sai and Kin. "It's like a competition to see who can be the loudest in this house," he said, and then he smirked.

"Nani?" asked Hinata when she saw the look on his face and then her eyes widened. Apparently his thirst was apparent, because her eyes cleared, her pupils fading.

"I have an idea," he told her, taking her hands in his while easing back on the bed.

"W-what's that?" Hinata stuttered.

Sasuke grabbed Hinata's waist, hauling her over and flipped them. "Let's see how quiet we can be," he whispered.

Sensing she was every bit of thirsty and hungry as he was, Sasuke wasn't surprised when she nodded with a blush and vowed to make their time something the birthday girl would remember all year as the best thing that happened on her birthday, Corvette included.

* * *

**_Alright! I think that was a good place to stop hopefully, you think so too (even though I know from being an avid reader, it's never enough). Again, I'm sorry about the update being a little late, but I made the chapter longer to make up for it._**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending _(now a completed fic), _or Following the Sun _(a new fic), please do. I'd really like to know what you think of the new fic._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	38. New Year Festivities

**_Hi there readers! I was—and I am—so stressed but I tried my best, k? Also, since I'm working such long and hard hours, the length of the chapters for my fics from now on will most likely be cut to about 1,500 instead of 2,500, after this one, and there will probably not be a longer one if I update late until further notice. I'm so very sorry but even now as I'm rereading all I'd like to do is sleep or read someone else's fic lol! Trust me, It's not easy typing dictated notes for foreign doctors for EIGHT hours to come home and type again. _**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

**_

* * *

  
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**Chapter 38: New Year Festivities**

**-----**

Hinata was glad her period had come and gone and was just cruising through the beginning of the week.

She had actually spent the weekend over at Sasuke's, borrowing some of Sasuke's clothes until he dropped her off at Ino's Monday. She spent the entire day there before her father picked her up and had been home since then.

Now, it was Tuesday and she was chatting away with Sasuke when her bedroom door opened. When Hinata looked to see who it was, she was surprised to see that it was Nikato.

"May I come in?" the woman asked.

"Hai," said Hinata. She sent Sasuke a quick be right back message and then, shutting down her laptop, gave Nikato her full attention. "How may I help you?"

Nikato came to stand next to the bed but Hinata told her she could sit.

"I just wanted to talk to you," said Nikato. "I see you everyday but I doubt I've had a real conversation with you."

Hinata was not sure why Nikato came to talk to her. Maybe she figured out everyone in the house knew why she was there or she knew she had been followed but she was sure that whatever the woman had to say would be of benefit to her; or at least she hoped so.

"Why would that be?" asked Hinata. "You've never seemed to take interest in me before."

"I have always taken interest in you," said Nikato. "I was very close to your mother."

"So why did you let Naomi take away my memories of her?" asked Hinata. She figured it was best to just everything out in the open. The more answers she got, the better and it made no sense pretending to be clueless.

"So you remember?" Nikato said softly.

"Hai," said Hinata. "I don't remember everything, but I know enough to realize what terrible people you are."

Nikato shook her head. "You must understand, I was only Lyvi's personal maid," Nikato said. "I had absolutely no say in what the leader decided and I still do not. When I heard Naomi-sama wanted someone to keep an eye on you, I jumped at the opportunity to see how you were doing."

"Is it true that Naomi just wants to make sure no one else gets my blood?" asked Hinata.

"That is the reason," Nikato replied as though she was ashamed. "But as strict as she is, Naomi-sama knows that a part of Lyvi is inside you, whether you are truly pure or not. You're her granddaughter and I think she just wants you safe."

"I don't think so," said Hinata. "I remember what she was like and my father told me. She hated him and barely tolerated me because I'm her daughters 'offspring.' She probably won't even look at Hanabi because she's not a vampire. Don't try to make her seem better than she really is."

Nikato hung her head and said, "Gomen."

"There's no need for you to apologize," said Hinata. "If anyone should be saying sorry to me, it's Naomi. She doesn't have a clue what I went through, not knowing anything about my mother."

"My father didn't talk about her until only last week. Neji, Hanabi, and me had to live through him taking out his grief on us because he couldn't even go to see where she was buried. Do you think that is fair?" Hinata asked hotly. "Do you?"

"Iie, I do not think what she did was fair to you but Naomi-sama is a strong woman and there's no crossing her. Whatever she says goes without argument, though we may not agree with it."

Hinata flopped back on the bed. "I just wish she would have left my memories, as well as Neji's," she said. "I wish she would have allowed us to see where my mother is, give us a chance to get used to not having her around."

Nikato didn't reply to that.

"I'm planning on going to the Red Gate as soon as this year is over," Hinata said lightly. "Get some answers, see where my mother is, and give Naomi a piece of my mind."

"I thought you might be doing that," said Nikato.

"How?"

"You went and became a stage three vampire and got a mate," Nikato explained. "There was no real need for you to do that unless you were from an outside clan, but it's always better to turn as young a possible to get used to it."

"Hn," Hinata sounded in understanding.

"Although, I don't know what Naomi-sama will say since you have a converted mixed blood as a mate," Nikato finished.

"She'll have to live with it," said Hinata simply. "She has no say in my life."

"She has a say in all our lives," said Nikato. "You have her blood in your veins."

Hinata sat up abruptly. "Nani?" she asked."What do you mean by that?"

"As long as you are a part of the clan, when you are born a ritual is performed where the leader's blood is fused with your own, a hidden seal of sorts. This allows the leader control and utter respect because if you go against them, they could hurt you severely."

"Does it work like that for all clans?" asked Hinata.

She could not really remember, but Madara had taken her blood to keep it within the Uchiha and she was sure she had taken some of his as well. If what Nikato was saying was true, that would mean two different clans had control of her.

"Iie, only purebloods do this," said Nikato and Hinata sighed visibly. "Were you worried?"

"Hai," Hinata answered. "But it doesn't matter because I don't feel any better about Naomi being able to dictate what I do."

"It's not as bad as you think it is," said Nikato. "You're not some puppet."

"Oh," said Hinata, a little relieved.

Nikato then stood up.

"It was so good taking to you," she said. "But I have to get back to work. Is there anything you need?"

"Iie," said Hinata and watched as the pureblooded woman make to leave. "Wait."

"Hai?" said Nikato.

"I know the location of the clan and everything but is there something else I must know or do to get in?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know if you heard," started Nikato. "But you can only enter or exit the gates once a month and that's on the last Friday at sunrise. If you go there, you will have to wait for until the last Friday of the next month to leave unless you get everything you want before the sun sets on the day you arrive."

"Arigatou," said Hinata, and she honestly was. "It was nice talking to you and maybe next time you can tell me more about my mother."

"Hai."

At the click of the door from Nikato leaving, Hinata opened her laptop to resume talking to Sasuke so she could let him know what she had found out.

* * *

The New Year was just a few hours away and even though Sasuke was slightly angry with Hinata's father, he couldn't complain.

Hinata had asked Hiashi if she could go to the city with him and the man had said no, stating the reason was because when the New Year came, the wildness people held in all year came out and it would probably not be wise to go with Sasuke alone.

Hinata had begged, and pleaded, and begged some more until the man had finally given in, but it came with a price.

She would be able to go to the city with Sasuke but only if he tagged along with Neji and Hanabi; Neji said he was bringing TenTen.

That was more than a crowd but he couldn't win it all, could he?

They had all hopped in the limo, picked up TenTen, and started for the city and here there were now, walking through the brightly lit streets; all the decorations and festive feel in the air exciting them.

Although Hiashi kept giving them glares every once in awhile, he held Hinata's hand while she rested her head on his shoulder as they walked, both sucking on their bitten tongues.

He looked across at Neji and TenTen and saw that they were keeping their distance but he didn't care. It was not like those two had came to an agreement of whether they were together or not yet; Hinata was his mate.

They walked all over, going in the malls and other stores that were opened for the occasion, hoping to make an extra dollar. Then they had all gone and gotten ice-cream—excluding Sasuke and Hinata—despite the fact that it was cold outside.

"Where should we go next?" asked Hiashi. "We have about two hours left until the countdown."

"Can we go to the amusement park?" asked Hanabi. She had been asking from the moment they got in the car.

"Hai, if that's alright with the others," said Hiashi, looking in their direction.

"It's fine," Neji said, speaking for both himself and TenTen.

"Hai."

"Hn."

Hanabi cheered and darted in the direction of the park, the signs guiding her to the location as the others followed.

"Are you having fun?" Hinata asked him as they walked.

"It's going good," said Sasuke and he bent to kiss her hair. "Better than not being able to go at all."

Hinata laughed and put both arms around him. "I'm glad," she said.

The amusement park sat right on the edge of the small city, the dazzling lights from the rides illuminating the surrounding area.

Hanabi skipped and jumped with glee as they came to the entrance and Sasuke could feel that Hinata was quite eager to go inside as well.

Hiashi bought them all tickets and they were ushered through the gates.

"We can split into groups," said Hiashi. "Neji can go with TenTen, I can go with Hanabi, and Hinata can go with Sasuke. We can either meet here before or after the countdown and then we can go home."

"Can we meet after the countdown?" asked TenTen. That was probably the first time Sasuke had heard her speak to anyone other than to greet them when she first got in the limo.

"That's fine," said Hiashi. "Do you all have money in case you want to buy something?"

"Hai."

"See you all next year!" said Hanabi as she ran off.

"What she said," Hiashi had time to say with a light chuckle, before he followed his youngest daughter.

The four left looked at each other.

"Same goes for everyone," said Hinata. "See you guys next year."

After they parted, Sasuke and Hinata went on some rides, with Hinata wanting to try everything she could.

They went on some that had Sasuke's head spinning and his stomach churning while he tried to hold up Hinata and some that had him feeling as though he would drop off to sleep… while he tried to hold up Hinata.

After they were done and had their fair share of everything, Sasuke and Hinata decided to walk around first before going on the Ferris wheel where would be where they would spend the final minutes of the year.

They went around playing several games and now Sasuke was trying to win the largest bear by tossing the ring; so far he had four of five rings on.

"You can do it, Sasuke!" Hinata cheered.

Sasuke focused and made the gamble; it was either going to go over or it wasn't. Either way, they had won the second largest plush there.

With a clang, the ring was on and Hinata rushed to his side, kissing him on the cheek a she hugged him and then he collected the huge panda bear.

He gave it to Hinata, who squeezed it tightly in her arms. Her arms couldn't get all the way around its middle. "Arigatou!" she said happily.

After that, they made a beeline for the Ferris wheel line to avoid the rush and saw TenTen and Neji there as well as Hiashi and Hanabi. TenTen and Hanabi were both holding a plush toy as well.

"I guess we all had the same idea," said Neji.

They waited for about fifteen minutes with Hanabi and TenTen gushing over Hinata's bear since it was a lot larger than their own before they could go in and were separated once again as they got in.

Hinata sat opposite him as she hugged her bear when they got in, giving a little squeak when the wheel began to move.

Sasuke watched as she pressed her hand to the cool glass, looking outside at the beautiful shimmering lights in the distance.

"Wow!" said Hinata. "We're really high up now."

Sasuke got up and sat down next to Hinata so he could see what she could. "It is really nice," he said.

He could feel Hinata trembling from where he was and scooted closer to hold her. "You're shivering. Are you cold?" he asked.

"Iie, it's just that I've never been so high in the air like this before," said Hinata, cuddling Sasuke as they both looked outside. "That, and it's soon going to be another year."

Just then, Sasuke's phone alarmed and he smiled as Hinata turned to him. "Here we go," he said. "Twenty more seconds."

Hinata grinned at him. "Let's count," she said.

They both started to count down, anticipation climbing as they counted backwards.

"Three, two, one…"

There were loud booming sounds and flashes of light from the fireworks, the Ferris wheel coming to a halt.

"Happy New Year!" exclaimed Hinata, kissing Sasuke quickly.

"Happy New Year," Sasuke replied, kissing her back.

Sasuke's phone vibrated and he saw all text messages from his parents, Itachi, Naruto, and cousins. He sent them all back well wishes, glad that they had listened when he told them to send messages and not call.

They turned to look through the glass at the stunning display just outside, Hinata's oohs and ahs at the different bursts of radiance filling the air, her face shining with glee.

Sasuke continued to hold Hinata close as they watched the fireworks and the people below jumping and cheering.

Even as he held Hinata, he could feel both their thirsts rising. They had not had foreign blood since a lot earlier in the day.

He turned Hinata's shoulders and stared into her eyes as he watched the light blossom in her irises.

Sasuke wordlessly took her hand and took the bear from her to open her palm and gave her his hand.

He immediately felt the thirst radiating from them both and they drank their fill for the first time for the year.

After feeding off Naruto for the past day of so, Sasuke felt as though he had been starved and it seemed like Hinata felt the same way because by the time they were done, their arms were numb.

The fireworks were still going as they kissed again, this time slowly and deeply. The fireworks and the fact that the Ferris wheel had started to move again, made it even better as the world literally tilted for them both as they descended, fireworks exploding just beyond their eyelids.

"I love you, Hinata," whispered Sasuke just before it was their turn to get out. He smoothed her hair down and straightened her shirt.

"I love you too," Hinata whispered back, smiling as she reached to take up the bear.

*

When they got out, Sasuke saw that Hiashi and Hanabi were already out and they had been waiting on them to come out.

"Are Neji and TenTen still inside?" asked Hinata.

"Hai," they should be out soon," said Hiashi. Sasuke could see that he was silently scrutinizing them both to see if they had done anything but, apparently, he could find nothing.

Neji and TenTen stepped out not too long after, TenTen sporting a light blush that was visible even though it was nighttime.

Seeing the glance Neji through Hinata's way who smiled at him knowingly, he could guess something interesting had probably happened and that he and Hinata were not the only one's enjoying their time alone up in the Ferris wheel.

"All ready to go now?" asked Hiashi.

"Hai," everyone said.

"Good, let's go to the front then. The limo is waiting."

Getting in the limo, everyone wore happy smiles and blushed all the way to their homes, reminiscing the good time they had had.

When Sasuke looked through the tinted windows, he could see that there was a light drizzle.

"You know," Hiashi said conversationally. "Hinata and Hanabi's mother said that when it rained in the first hours of the New Year, it is a blessing from Kami."

"Really," asked Hanabi.

"She did," said Hiashi.

"I believe that," Hinata said, smiling at everyone.

Sasuke glanced across to catch TenTen and Neji's hands connect at their sides. If there was one thing that had surprised him for the night, it was the two of them.

Hiashi then turned on some music for the occasion, and they enjoyed the music.

TenTen was dropped off at her house and Sasuke went back to Hinata's since his car was there.

The others got out and went inside while Hinata walked with him to his car.

"I had such a great time," said Hinata and waved the panda's paw at him. "Thanks again for winning the bear for me."

"I had a good time too and no problem," said Sasuke.

He got in and started the car.

"Are you sure you'll be fine driving so late?" asked Hinata. "It's three in the morning."

"I'll drive extra careful," said Sasuke. "I have you waiting to make sure I get home."

"Ok then. See you soon."

"See you soon."

Sasuke shut the door and Hinata leaned over to kiss Sasuke on the cheek. "Bye."

Hinata stepped back to allow Sasuke to reverse and then he was driving away with her waving.

He must say that this was the best New Year's he had had in a couple years.

The year was looking like it would be a fantastic one and it was because Hinata would be with him.

It had already started perfectly and there was no going down from here.

* * *

**_That's it! I actually made a lot of sacrifices to get this out and it was done last night. It was so late though that all I could do was remember to hit save before shutting down and the thing is I had to wake early after going out. Anyway, I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing and I made the chapter a little longer for you._**

**_To Zachary Andrews: Thank you so much for always reviewing and giving your opinions. I know you've asked about Gaara or Hanabi being vampires but the way I have the fic set up, that can't be allowed. Maybe if you had mentioned it in earlier chapters like say in the first ten chapters, I could have steered it that way. Gaara definitely can't be a vampire because he's not that close to any of the main characters here and even in the canon he doesn't have a clan. I will explain in an upcoming chapter why exactly Hanabi can't be a vampire, k? _**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime,A Happy Ending_ (now a completed fic) or _Following the Sun_ (a new fic), please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	39. Old Habbits, New Interests

**_Hey there! Here we are again and let me tell you, my past week was hell on earth, my goodness and it looks like this week is not going to be any better. I hope my bad mood doesn't affect the chapter though and that you like it. That said, let's get on with it._**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

**_

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**Chapter 39: Old Habits, New Interests**

**-----**

It was sad to see him leave but Hinata waved with a smile all the same as she watched her father be driven away in the limo a week after his birthday.

She would miss him but she knew he had to get back to work.

Looking down at Hanabi who was hanging onto her, she saw that the younger girl was trying not to cry and could understand why.

He was her father after all and she had not gotten the full terrible treatment Neji and herself had plus, it had been nice to have him around the house.

Underneath it all though, Hinata felt the same way and knew Neji did as well. Her father had definitely changed and was trying to be as best a father as he could and they were all glad.

After the car disappeared around the corner on the main road, they all turned around and went upstairs. Hanabi went straight to her room at a brisk walk, shutting her door while Hinata and Neji went to his room.

Hinata grabbed Neji and fell on the bed with Hinata's limbs sprawled around him as he held her in place.

"I'm going to the Red Gate on Saturday," she told him. "I told Otou-san and he said that it's ok with him."

Neji smiled. "Good, the sooner you get there, the sooner you can get back," he said.

Hinata had discussed it with both Neji and Sasuke, as well as her father and Nikato, and they had all come to the conclusion that she and Sasuke could possibly be staying with the Hitomi clan for a month.

There was a lot that needed to be done and she knew unless her grandmother really loathed her and wanted her and Sasuke to leave she would have to stay there.

"Are you going to tell Hanabi where you're going?" asked Neji.

"Hmm, I'll just tell her I'm going over to Sasuke's for the rest of the vacation and then you can tell her I'm sick," said Hinata distractedly. She was currently sniffing Neji's neck, the scent of his steady blood flow beneath his veins muddling her thoughts.

"When Hanabi finds out where you've been she's not going to like it," said Neji. He shifted his head so Hinata could get better access. She was not hungry or anything, since she had not too long taken his blood.

"I know," said Hinata. "But it's for the best. I really don't want to keep any of this from her but I know that there's no way Naomi will let her through the gate."

"Why?" asked Neji. "She let me in when I was younger."

"Because you were company for her daughter's offspring," said Hinata.

"But I'm not blood related to the clan," said Neji. "She is."

"It's not like you'd be accepted if you tried to het in now, you know," Hinata told him. "And she's not old enough."

"That's true," Neji agreed. "I guess we'll have to wait until she's older then."

Hinata giggled in the crook of Neji's neck, making him squirm. "We sound like parents," she said.

"We'd be terrible parents," said Neji. "Keeping everything secret like this."

Hinata sat up and rolled off her cousin to lie on her side facing him as she propped her head up on an elbow. "Speaking of keeping secrets, you have barely told me anything about what's going on between you and TenTen."

Hinata saw a blush spread across her cousin's face and smiled. "So there _is_ something going on, isn't there?"

"I don't know," said Neji. "But she's made it clear she likes me."

"When did it start? Who started it?" Hinata pressed. "I want the details. Did you two kiss yet?"

Neji gave her an embarrassed smile. "Ano… we talk online a lot and then TenTen asked me what I was doing for New Year's so I told her. Since she said she didn't have anything to do, I invited her to come with us." He said. "I guess she started it because she's the one who made the first move and kissed me when we were in the Ferris wheel."

"Ooh!" Hinata cooed. "What was it like?"

Neji kept quiet for awhile as though reliving the experience. "It was really unexpected but nice, I guess."

Hinata jumped up, clapping her hands in excitement before she kissed Neji quickly. "That's great!" she said. "So are you two together now?"

"I don't think so," said Neji. "We have been talking as though nothing happened."

"You idiot," said with a laugh. "TenTen's waiting for you to make the first move this time around."

"I figured if she could be so bold to kiss me, she should be able to let me know if she wants to be my girlfriend or not. Plus, that could have been just a spur of the moment thing."

"Maybe," said Hinata. "But I don't think TenTen is the type to go around kissing people like that."

"Hn. How did Deidara like his gift?" said Neji, obviously trying to change the subject.

"I gave him that a long time ago," said Hinata. "The Monday I had gone over to Ino's and, yes, he did like it… I'm not sure the others did though."

"Who would want exploding clay in their house?" asked Neji. "Deidara is crazy as it is."

"I know, but it's harmless," said Hinata. "What time is it?"

Neji looked across at the clock that was on his side of the room. "It's a little after twelve."

Hinata got up. "Are you hungry?" she asked him. "Hanabi probably is. Sometimes she eats like crazy."

"Hai, I'm hungry. You drained me," said Neji.

"We can go now so I'll let Hanabi know she can go down to the kitchen to get something to eat with you," said Hinata.

Neji got up as well and went to the pc. "I'll tell TenTen to hold on a little longer."

--

After he did that, the two started talking about what to expect when she and Sasuke would go to the Red Gate on their way to the kitchen even though they didn't have a clue. Although she had been to the Uchiha clan, she heard that pureblood territory might be different.

Hinata knocked on Hanabi's door. "Hanabi? Are you hungry? Neji's going to get some lunch."

"Iie!" the younger girl shouted, the voice muffled by the wood of the door.

Turning the knob, Hinata realized that the door was locked. "Why does she keep this locked now?" she asked Neji.

Neji shrugged and knocked on the door. "Hanabi, why do you have the door locked?"

"It's something called 'privacy'," was the reply.

"You didn't have it locked when Otou-san was here," said Hinata. "Never mind," she said afterwards.

She turned to Neji and then they both went down the stairs. When they got into the kitchen, Neji took out some food that the cooks had prepared for them.

"I don't know what's going on with her lately," he said. "She's always in her bedroom and never comes out. It's really worrying me."

Hinata thought for awhile. "I know she's acting strange but maybe it's because she missed Otou-san," she offered. "She was a lot better these last few weeks."

"That's not the point," said Neji. "If she doesn't start to act normal again soon, I'm going to find out why she's like this."

"I'll talk to her before I leave for Mizugakure," said Hinata. She reached across the table and held Neji's hand. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

Hanabi came down to the kitchen, grabbed something from out of the fridge and sat with them, saying nothing. It remained that way for awhile but then she excused herself to go to the bathroom as she was doing before Hiashi had visited.

"See? She back to her old habits," said Neji.

* * *

Sasuke was sure he was going to go insane.

Naruto was driving him mad and the worst part about it was that Sasuke was going along with it willingly since he felt sorry for his best friend.

Only a week had passed since Naruto had started training so he could convert and the blond was not taking it well.

He was practically living in the bathroom now, puking every few hours when he had to take blood and since Karin and Kin had gone to visit their parents respectively with Sai tagging along, Sasuke was left to take care of him.

Itachi was in the house more now that he had to monitor Naruto but he only made sure the blond wasn't dying and that was it.

Sasuke had to help feed Naruto liquids since he wouldn't drink anything Itachi gave him because the elder Uchiha brother had tried to spike it with pig's blood the first time. It was his fault for not wanting to take it though.

The house was always warmer than it should be and Naruto had to drink blood more than he himself had had to when he was about to convert, much to both their chagrin.

"Ngh… Sasuke," Naruto groaned. "I feel so terrible."

Sasuke sighed as he looked up from his laptop, hands poised over the keys. His fingers did quick work to let Hinata know he would be back and got up from the desk to go over to Naruto's bed.

Sasuke lifted Naruto's head to the glass of water he took up from the bedside table. He gently pressed the glass to his best friend's lips. "You're such a baby," said Sasuke.

"I am not," Naruto said weakly. "I miss my ramen."

Sasuke laughed at him. "You miss ramen?" he asked. "You're going to miss it a whole lot more from now on and that's the least of your problems."

"I know," Naruto said sadly. Then he smiled. "But I get to stay with Karin for as long as I can and that's the best part."

Sasuke looked at the clock. "No wonder you were starting to feel sick. Sit up; it's time to get another dose of blood."

Naruto cringed, shuddering violently. "Aww come on, Sasuke. Don't make me drink it."

Sasuke went to the bathroom and took one of the small vials that were in there. When he came back, he sat on the edge of the bed and helped Naruto sit up before he smacked him upside the head.

"Dobe, you have to drink it," he said, opening the vial of warm blood and giving it to the blond. The raw scent of it stifled Sasuke as he held it up to Naruto's mouth. "Drink."

When Naruto refused, Sasuke smacked him again, this time on the shoulder, and then he held his nose. "Must we do this every time?" he more asked himself than Naruto as he poured the liquid down Naruto's gurgling throat.

Sasuke hopped away quickly, expecting Naruto to spring from the bed to the bathroom to puke for the umpteenth time that day, but he just lay there.

"Wow," said Naruto, his face twisted in revulsion. "I feel utterly disgusted beyond belief but I don't want to throw up."

Sasuke clapped him on the back. "It's starting to settle then," he said. "I'll go let Itachi know."

Handing Naruto the glass of water to help carry down what he knew was probably the worst tasting thing a civilized human could stomach.

--

Sasuke left the room and went to Itachi's. He opened the door when Itachi said he could come in and both Itachi and his dominance spread throughout the room.

"What is it?" asked Itachi. He was just lying there on his back staring at the ceiling as usual. "Did Naruto get his blood?"

"Hai," said Sasuke. "And he didn't throw up this time."

"That's good. It's been a week so at least he should be off solid foods now."

Sasuke went and lay down as well. "What do you mean by solid foods?" he asked. "He hasn't eaten anything since last week."

"I was just testing him," said Itachi. "He doesn't have vampire blood in him so he can't come off food completely yet, among other things. That's why he has a month to prepare in the first place."

"You mean you let him puke up his guts without letting him eat anything for a whole week just to test him?" Sasuke asked disbelievingly. "Do you see how weak and skinny he's gotten?"

"I had to see if he could really handle living off blood alone, as horrible as animals' blood is," Itachi answered. "But because I did that, he's off solids faster than would be expected. As for the weight, he'll gain that back soon."

"I don't think Naruto will be too happy to hear that you've kept him from eating," said Sasuke. "What _can_ he eat anyway?"

"He doesn't have to worry about eating ramen," said Itachi. "He can eat that for another week but that's just because I don't want him to suffer. Other than that, it's only liquids."

"He'll be happy to hear that," said Sasuke.

They both just stared at the ceiling for awhile.

"I had been meaning to ask you," Itachi started. "I smelled someone on Hinata when she was here. Who was that?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow in suspicion. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing really," said Itachi. "They smelled… pleasant."

Smiling, Sasuke looked across at his brother. "Interested?"

"Only in the blood."

Sasuke's smile turned into a grin as he got up and made for the door. "Well you'll probably see the owner of that blood we go back to school."

"Hn."

Sasuke closed the door behind him. It seemed the New Year started with everyone taking interest in someone. He wondered how many of them would be together this time next year.

His future with Hinata looked bright so far and she told him that Neji had not made a move with TenTen yet and it looked like the girl would have to pull a fast one on him again. He didn't care as long as it kept the cousins apart a little bit.

He knew that Naruto was serious about Karin so he didn't see a reason to wonder about those two yet.

Sai and Kin were quietly setting about living their lives and now Itachi asked him about someone which had not happened since he had taken interest in Hinata.

Maybe his brother would find someone of his own as well since the answer Sasuke always got when he ask about him getting a mate would be that he had not found anyone to grab his attention yet.

Sasuke went back to Naruto's room to find him sleeping strongly. He pulled the covers over the other and went back to the desk to finish his conversation with Hinata.

He talked for quite sometime before it was time for Naruto to take more blood. This time, Naruto did throw up but not as badly as he had been before.

After Sasuke helped the feeble blond back into bed, he got under the covers as well since he had to make sure Naruto would be fine throughout the night without any problems.

As he settled down, Sasuke drifted off just as quickly as he had been for the week, his thoughts on the upcoming events.

* * *

**_And that's the end of the chapter. I made it a little longer this time which is a little over the original 2500. I had no choice but to write and reread tonight when I got home because my weekend was packed. I hope you liked the chapter though._**

**_If you have not read Hina hime, A Happy Ending (now a completed fic), or Following the Sun, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	40. The Red Gate

**_Hi there! We're at the big 40! _**

**_This year is really flying, isn't it? My birthday is soon here again, wow!_**

**_But, again, I'm in a foul mood. Really and truly it's like everyday I get up and find nothing to be happy about because 1. I have to get up early, 2. It's to go to a crappy job, 3. The pay is not even that great in my opinion for the stress it puts me through, 4. I don't really like the people I work with other than my cousins and a few others, and 5. I get home late tired and pissed off._**

**_ I'm not usually like this, angry all the time and it's putting me through hell so bear with me and my writing if it seems off in any way. I hope you all enjoyed your week and weekend._**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

**_

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**Chapter 40: The Red Gate**

**-----**

"You have your shoes?"

"Hai."

"Enough clothes?"

"Hai."

"Do you have enough food for the trip?"

"Does it seem like we need to carry food?"

"What about blood?"

"We're both vampires so we don't need to carry any. We've been through thi-"

"Toothbrush?"

"Hai!"

"Condoms?"

"… You have got to be kidding me."

Sasuke looked at his best friend blankly. "Look, I have everything I _need_, alright?"

Naruto stuck out his lip. He was sitting up in bed eating ramen while he watched Sasuke recheck everything he had packed. "You never know what you'll need and when you'll need it," the blond said.

"Just because you and Karin can't keep your hands off each other, it doesn't mean everyone is like that," said Sasuke as he zipped up his suitcase. "I'll be back."

Taking up a folded paper from the bedside table, Sasuke went to Itachi's room and knocked before entering. Itachi was actually up and on his own laptop that Sasuke had not even known about.

"Where did you get that from?" asked Sasuke.

"I don't think I have to tell you every detail of my life," said Itachi. "But I bought it the other day to see what it is teenagers can't live without."

Sasuke came closer to see what Itachi was doing but the older Uchiha shut it and swiveled in his chair to face his younger brother.

"What's the matter?" Itachi asked. "I thought you would have been through the door by now."

"I'm about to leave," said Sasuke. He gave Itachi the paper. "Here's the map you wanted."

Itachi took the paper and unfolded it, quickly glancing over what was there. "This is where it is?"

"Hai," Sasuke answered.

Itachi said he had wanted the location of the Hitomi clan so that he would know where they were just in case anything should happen.

Itachi put the paper on the desk. "That's all?" he asked.

"Iie. I want you to write up an excuse for me," said Sasuke. "Since school is on Monday and we won't be there for a month."

"I keep forgetting you'll be out there for a whole month," said Itachi. "You two are going to miss out on a lot of work."

"Not really, we'll catch up quickly."

"If you say so," said Itachi as he stood up. "I'll see you soon then."

Sasuke approached his brother and gave him a quick one-armed hug. "Hai."

"Be careful," warned Itachi. "You don't know what kind of vampires they are."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I _do_ know what kind they are," he said before his face softened. "Arigatou."

He turned around. "And I want your email address when I get back."

Itachi looked at him as though he was crazy. "We live in the same house," he said.

"So? Hinata has Neji's and Hanabi's and they live in the same house," Sasuke answered.

"Whatever," Itachi said.

Sasuke left Itachi's room and went back to his own, shaking his head at the occupant in his bed. "I don't see why you want to stay in here," he said to Naruto.

"I'm only staying until Karin comes back," said Naruto, who cuddled further into the bed. "Besides, in here smells like you and I like it for some odd reason." Naruto took a big whiff of the sheets and pillows for emphasis. "In here smells so melodious."

Sasuke laughed outright. "It's _malodorous_," he said with a snort and then turned up his nose. "Sometimes I really wonder about your sanity," he said. "And your sexuality. What male would want to smell another male's scent? I certainly don't like smelling you and you're my taste."

"What sanity?" Naruto asked with a grin. "And what does liking how you smell have to do with sexuality or taste?"

Sasuke didn't mind too much though and knew that it was the fact that he was most likely Naruto's taste that was making him act like that and supposed it was different training and converting for different people. Either way, Naruto had always been close to him from younger.

He sighed as he pulled on the handle of the suitcase and dragged it as he walked towards the door. "Don't worry about it. I'm going now," he said. "I'll see you on the other side," he finished referring to the fact that when he would see Naruto again, he would be a vampire.

"I hope you have cookies when I get there!" he heard as he shut the door.

---

Sasuke trudged down the stairs with the suitcase, unintentionally making a racket as he left the house. He stuffed it into the trunk of his car and got in behind the wheel.

He started the car and revved up a bit as he just sat there with his hands on the wheel. He realized he did this a lot lately.

Sasuke was about to go with Hinata to Mizugakure where her clan was to find out more about herself and everything else she didn't understand.

They had spent weeks, months thinking about this and now it was time to make the final move to get there.

Shifting the car into reverse, Sasuke pulled out of the garage to the driveway and was on his way to Hinata's.

* * *

Hinata was waiting outside with Neji for Sasuke to arrive.

They both just stood there not really knowing what to say as both of them were caught up in their own thoughts about the situation arising. Hanabi was up to whatever it was she did in her room these past months.

Hinata was so nervous she thought she would faint. She was taking Sasuke with her to a place she had never been for a month to live with complete strangers. She had no idea what to expect from them and how she would get along with the people.

"What do you think it'll be like?" she asked Neji as the thought came. She was sure they'd been over this topic at least five times that day.

"Well I told you it might be like when you went to the Uchiha clan," said Neji. "But purebloods are supposed to be a lot different compared to mixed bloods."

"Madara's home felt and looked like death," said Hinata. "It was frighteningly beautiful there but the rest of the village seemed normal."

She then looked towards the main road in the distance. "All I remember from my memory of the clan is an open field where I was playing and everything was moving so fast that I didn't have time to pay attention to the surroundings."

A red mustang turned the corner and Hinata watched it come closer. Sasuke pulled into their driveway and got out.

"Ohayo," he greeted Neji and then turned to Hinata. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Hai," said Hinata, tugging her suitcase to give to Sasuke. He took it and carried it to the car, putting it in the trunk with his own, she assumed.

"Well this is it," said Neji.

Hinata nodded and smiled sadly. "Wish me luck."

Neji rushed forward and hugged Hinata tightly. "Good luck," he said.

Hinata held onto him just as tightly and let go, kissing him soundly on his cheek. "I'll see you in a month," she said. "Take care of Hanabi. She's really moody right now."

"I will," Neji told her, kissing her forehead. "Be safe."

He wiped away the two stray tears as they fell from her eyes and Hinata started to walk towards the car.

Hinata got in and buckled up. Sasuke reversed and when they were on the main road, they both waved goodbye and left with a beep of the horn.

---

"So how is Naruto doing?" asked Hinata after they had been driving for a little while.

"He's getting better now," said Sasuke. "I swear it was me going through training this past week."

Hinata laughed and said. "I know you told me, but it couldn't have been that bad."

"You have no idea," Sasuke said. "Naruto's already a whiny loud baby when he's normal and now it's ten times worse; crying when the ramen runs out and he's all in my room and closet sniffing my things."

Hinata laughed some more, the thought unbearably funny. "Does he still hate Itachi for what he did," asked Hinata, referring to the fact that Itachi had taken Naruto off foods so quickly.

"He forgot about it as soon as he was able to eat ramen," said Sasuke. "But he'll be off that by next week as well so he better eat all he can now."

"I don't know how he's going to survive with you not being there," said Hinata.

"Karin should be back by tomorrow night so she can go to school on Monday," said Sasuke. "She'll take care of him."

"Then we've got to hope that Itachi doesn't let him suffer until then."

---

They both stayed quiet for some time after that, occasionally throwing in pieces of conversations as the roads, streets, and highways got more unfamiliar.

Hinata looked through the opened windows as the chilly winds swept her hair about her face and bit her cheeks.

They had been driving for hours; stopping to put in more gas at gas stations, to have a bath at motels, and to pull up to feed. Then they were off again, taking turns to drive and take naps.

It seemed so peaceful out there in the country. Outside was still cold and so the trees and fields were bare.

It didn't snow in Konoha and if it did, it was very brief. Now that they were nearing Mizugakure, as far as the map was showing her, she could see frost and a light sheet of ice and snow on everything.

The road was a little slippery from the ice as well and they had had to roll up the windows and turn on the heater.

As they got even closer to their destination, they actually got lost roughly three or four times before they were back on track again.

The mist was making it very difficult for them to see as they turned off the secondary road and onto the bumpy track that was marked with no entry signs as well as others like "Dead end" "Danger!" and "Do not trespass."

At least it looked like a bumpy road because the car actually felt as though it was gliding along the smoothest highway. There were boulders and potholes but they felt none.

"This is good," said Sasuke. "There was no way I would drive my car on a road that looks like this."

"So why did you pull onto it?" asked Hinata.

"I figured there's no road that's going to lead to purebloods that would be as bad as this looked," Sasuke answered. "Plus, I know that vampires have all sorts of diversions to keep humans away."

She could tell that he was very tired and offered to drive again since she had taken a short nap earlier. Sasuke took to the passenger seat and was sleeping by the time Hinata started off again.

The stretch was long and winding and when Hinata thought it would never end after taking a peep at the radio to see they had been driving for nearly three days since leaving home, something appeared in the distance.

With one hand, she shook Sasuke's shoulders. "Sasuke," she said. "Wake up, we're soon there."

Sasuke opened his eyes, blinking and rubbing them. "Good, it's about time."

He sounded as bored as ever but Hinata could feel that he was just as nervous and anxious as she was.

They came closer and closer, steadily going uphill as the towering, red, gleaming gate became more apparent at the blunt peak of the hill.

Hinata's heart pounded faster and harder as they approached and finally came to a stop just outside the gate. She leaned over the steering wheel to look up at it and Sasuke leaned over the dashboard.

"Really," said Sasuke. "What are they keeping in there? Giants?"

Hinata laughed nervously and it died on her tongue as two people appeared outside the gate.

She looked towards Sasuke and he looked back at her.

"Well," she breathed. "This is it."

There was no turning back now.

* * *

**_And that is the end of this chapter. Yes, I did finish this last night, as usual, and ended up reading it over today. BUT on the bright side—or bad—I'm sick so I stayed home from work and so you can read it a little earlier rather that later tonight. I hope you liked it because I did and made it longer for you as well. _**

**_If you have not read Hina hime, A Happy Ending (now a completed fic), or Following the Sun, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	41. The Hitomi Realm

**_Hi there! It's time for another chapter. I don't really have much to say again and I guess that's due to the fact that I'm still pissed off as I've been these past few months because of my utter disappointment of a job. I've told myself that I won't let it get to me but it's damn hard to do. Got to keep trying though, ne?_**

**_ Also, my life is just spiraling downward when it comes to everything it seems; especially my relationship with my father. I don't even want to go into that right now but he's just annoying me more and more and everyday he's just getting worse. Really, I know it's bad but I wish something would just swallow him up so he could just leave me the hell alone, damn!_**

**_ Anyways, let's get on with it and start the chapter and I hope, once again, that my foul mood doesn't ruin it. _**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

**_

* * *

  
_**

**Chapter 41: The Hitomi Realm**

**-----**

Sasuke watched as the brunette vampires seemed to glide towards them—it looked as though all members of the Hitomi clan had the same midnight blue hair Hinata had.

He took another glance at Hinata.

"I think it's best if I talk," she told him.

Sasuke nodded, understanding the need for her to be the one to speak to the guards. She was Naomi's granddaughter after all but he was not sure if that would be of benefit to her or not.

They both rolled down their windows as the men came on either side. Sasuke could feel the power radiating from them both. The aura was just amazing in Sasuke's opinion.

It was not the predominant one he got from Itachi or others male vampires but there was something that made Sasuke feel as though he and Hinata were being looked down upon. He did not like that.

The one on Hinata's side spoke.

"What business do you have here?" he asked her. "I've never seen you before but you smell distinctly pure and of the Hitomi… yet you have both human and mixed blood in your veins."

"Hai," said Hinata a little shakily. "I'm Uchiha Hinata. My mother was Hitomi Lyvi and Uchiha Sasuke…" she motioned to him. "…Is my mate. My father is a human."

"That's messed up," the one on Sasuke side muttered and Sasuke sent him a harsh glare.

"I'm here to see my grandmother," Hinata continued as though she hadn't heard the man's rude remark, spitting out the word 'grandmother' as though it left a bitter taste on her tongue. "Hitomi Naomi."

Both the men straightened up at hearing that Naomi was Hinata's grandmother. It seemed no one really knew about Hinata and the issue surrounding her.

"Welcome to the Hitomi realm. My name is Daiki and he is Haru. You'll need to get out of the car to enter," said Daiki.

Sasuke stared at him as though he was mad.

"You can't enter the way you are," Haru said. "Cars, technology, clothes, and anything that is made by humans are not allowed past this point."

"When we get out of the car, where will it be kept?" asked Sasuke.

"You can be assured that it will be kept safe," said Haru. "We'll provide you with clothes and whatever you need while you are here."

Well that sounded reasonable, but if Sasuke found one scratch on his car that he knew Naruto didn't put there, there would be hell to pay.

He had nearly killed his best friend, when he saw it and had made him polish it out by hand.

Hinata looked at Sasuke and he shrugged, unbuckling his seatbelt. Hinata did the same and they both got out.

"Your keys please," said Haru.

Sasuke slowly handed his keys to the man, gripping the keys a little tighter so Haru had to tug for him to let go but when Sasuke's fingers brushed Haru's it felt as though he had been scorched. The other seemed to notice as well but spoke nothing of it.

Haru got into the car behind the wheel. "Not to worry, Uchiha-san," he said. "You'll get it back just as you gave it to us."

And right before Sasuke's eyes, Haru disappeared, taking his car and belongings with him. He just stared at the spot where red still shimmered before his eyes.

How had he done that? He never knew vampires could be so powerful and he was saying that while having Itachi as his brother and knowing some of what Madara was capable of. Sasuke saw that Hinata was also in shock at seeing such a thing.

"Follow me," said Daiki, gaining both their attention. He started to walk away, not looking back to see if he and Hinata were following him.

He stopped in front of the towering gate that appeared to be leaning to fall on them. "I'll be right back," said Daiki and then he was gone as well.

Before Hinata could voice anything as she had opened her mouth to tell Sasuke something, he reappeared and beside him was a beautiful brunette with her hair in a tight bun.

"This is Kaori," said Daiki. The woman waved a hand at them, "She will take Hinata-sama to be dressed. Sasuke you come with me."

"To be dressed?" asked Sasuke. "Why do we need to be dressed?"

"As said, you can't carry or wear anything beyond the gate that is off humans or not of purification," said Daiki. "You both have to wash everything off you, especially you," he said to Sasuke. "You smell of a human in the process of transitioning. Disgusting."

Sasuke's ears perked at the word and glared at Daiki. It had come to his attention that purebloods did not seem to have manners when it came to anyone outside the clan but couldn't they keep their thoughts to themselves?

"Listen-" Sasuke started. "Daiki, I don't appreciate your rudeness. That 'disgusting' human you're talking about is very close to me."

"He is right," Hinata chipped in. "He is close to both of us."

Daiki gave a short bow. "Gomen, I didn't mean to offend you or Hinata-sama."

Sasuke and Hinata shared a glance. It seemed as though some of the vampires here did not know about Hinata at all. Just hearing that her grandmother was Naomi had them calling her 'Hinata-sama' already.

"This way, Hinata-sama," said Kaori.

Hinata looked at him nervously, her eyes showing him how scared she really was. He gave her a reassuring nod and a slight smile. With that, she nodded as well and turned away to follow Kaori.

Sasuke looked around at Daiki and when he turned back, Hinata and Kaori were gone.

--

He did not know how these people were getting it done but without any awareness whatsoever, he was standing in a windowless, bare room that was roughly the size of a small house. Had he even blinked?

Daiki turned his back on Sasuke and went towards a door he had not realized was there. When Daiki came back out, he was holding some robes and other things.

"You'll wear these when you've had your bath," he said.

"What will happen to the clothes and shoes and stuff I'm wearing now?" asked Sasuke.

"They will be burned," Daiki replied simply as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh no," said Sasuke. "You're not burning my clothes and shoes. Do you think I picked these up from the side of the road in passing? Do you think my phone is cheap?"

To be honest, he never really liked any of the things he was wearing but that was not the point.

"Of course not, Uchiha-san," said Daiki. "But we cannot allow the contamination. I'm sure you understand that."

"Contamination," Sasuke echoed. He took a step closer to Daiki but the taller man showed no evidence of being intimidated in the least. "I'm from a mixed clan. My mother is a human so don't even start with that kind of talk around me."

Daiki looked him straight in the eye. "You'll have to excuse me but I am merely stating my opinion."

Sasuke called up what little patience he had before he spoke again. "Just show me where I'm supposed to go to wash off my 'filth.'"

Daiki pointed in the room he had entered earlier and then handed him the items in his hands. "Through there. Please hurry."

--

Sasuke snatched the things from Daiki, making sure not to touch him, and made his way to the room, seeing that it was a bathroom. The water from the shower started as soon as he shut the door behind him and locked it.

He stripped and stepped into the spacious bath, sliding across the screen. Cautiously, he approached the spray of water.

As predicted, as soon as the drops touched his skin, he felt as though he had been scorched; as though his skin had been peeled off. "Damn!" said Sasuke.

He had remembered feeling something similar what he had touched Haru and wondered if they were so pure that it really made him unclean.

Sasuke inspected his chest and saw that it did not look as though he had been burned so he stepped under the sprays of water again, bearing the sting.

When he looked down, he was shocked out of his mind that there was actually what looked like mud on the floor, going down the drain.

"What the-"

There was a knock at the door.

"Are you soon finished, Uchiha-san?" came the muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"Hai," said Sasuke. He took up the bar of soap that was there are lathered it up. It burned his hands and skin but he endured it only this time, it looked like blood that was being washed away.

"Don't touch the clothes you've taken off," said Daiki. "Those will be taken care of."

Maybe it _was_ blood; he could smell it. He had to thank Kami that he had taken blood not too long ago from Hinata or he would have taken his wrist.

He did not see a knob to turn the shower off but when he stepped out, the water stopped.

Taking up the large fluffy towel, he toweled off his skin which now had water instead of blood trickling along his skin. The towel felt as though it was grating his skin off the bones but when he checked again, he looked fine.

He then proceeded to put on the long flowing robes, slacks, and comfortable sandals after he put on the underwear—yes, he felt _very_ uncomfortable wearing underwear he did not know about.

Sasuke came out the room a little while later after checking his appearance in the vampire-made mirror.

Daiki raked his eyes over Sasuke, probably to see if he was appropriately dressed and cleaned and nodded to himself.

"We can now go past the gate," he told Sasuke.

So where the hell was this place located?

Sasuke was in mid thought when he found himself back in front of the gate. Hinata and Kaori were already there.

He walked up to her and held her hand. Hinata held his as well, squeezing it tightly.

Daiki and Kaori looked at them with what Sasuke realized as disapproval.

"This way," said Kaori. "Naomi-sama has been notified of your visiting us and she is waiting."

Hinata nodded and they watched as both Kaori and Daiki walked towards the opening gate.

"Did that feel as though your skin was being peeled off?" whispered Hinata.

"Hai," said Sasuke.

Unreal illumination flooded the area as it was opened, causing Sasuke to squint and Hinata to raise her hand to her face to shield the light. Also there was a flowery smell in the air that made Sasuke feel giddy.

When they stepped through the Red Gate, Sasuke had to say that he had not been expecting anything like this.

* * *

Hinata's eyes widened when she saw her surroundings. It was nothing like the Uchiha clan.

While the Uchiha focused on everything dark and terrifyingly beautiful, the Hitomi seemed to be the opposite.

The Hitomi had the most enchanting structures Hinata could ever imagine. She felt as though she had just fallen through the page of a fairy tale book. The air was filled with the scent of the flowers and power was charging all around them.

The pristine buildings loomed above the four as they walked along the evenly cobbled path and they were situated right in the middle of open fields of flowers that Hinata could not remember being there in her memories.

There were carnations and snow drops everywhere Hinata looked and there were vampires walking around the area, giving them curious looks but sparing them nothing more than a glance.

"There's no time for a tour now," said Kaori. "You have to meet with Naomi-sama first and rest but after that, someone should give you one."

"Hai," said Hinata.

They came upon the largest building in the area and Hinata's mouth gaped even wider than it had been before without her knowing. It was just like a castle sitting right there. It was right smack in the middle of some trees that partially hid it from plain view and looked as though it had popped up before them.

Hinata and Sasuke were led up the white marbled steps to the large white doors and they were opened for them by two others inside.

"Welcome to the Hitomi Palace," said one of them. "Naomi-sama is waiting.

Hinata gulped nervously and took a deep breath. Sasuke, whose hand was still in hers, squeezed it gently before stepping over the threshold, taking her with him.

Daiki and Kaori walked behind them now as the butlers—she supposed—led the way.

As Hinata cam closer, she could feel it. She did not know what it was exactly she was feeling but it left the hairs on the back of her neck on end as she walked through the main hall.

It was similar feeling to when she had visited Madara but impossibly times stronger, making Hinata feel terribly horrified and mystifyingly entranced all at once. They came to two more doors that the men opened.

There, sitting at the end of the room on a throne was her grandmother, flanked by two other vampires.

Hinata could not see her face since she was still far away but as she was walking closer yet, she could identify some of the feelings that were radiating in the room; disgust was the most prominent of them all.

"We will now leave you," said Daiki and Hinata turned just in time to see him disappear as well as Kaori and the two butlers.

Sasuke let go of her hand. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"I don't know," answered Hinata.

--

"I don't have all day."

Hinata and Sasuke's heads jerked in the direction of the clear, demanding voice of Naomi. They started to walk again and stopped at the bottom of the three steps to Naomi's throne.

Up close, Naomi was a frightening woman. Not facial wise because she was absolutely stunning for her age; how ever old that was. She had the appearance of a fifty year old in perfect shape, even with the wrinkles. The makeup she was wearing was not like the others Hinata had seen so far.

Her piercing, devastatingly colorless eyes were winged and curtained by very long, thick lashes. She was wearing a red lipstick that framed her bowed but tight lips.

Her hair was midnight blue, streaked with silver and was obviously long for the two braided locks that framed her face were almost touching the tiled floors as she sat although she had the rest brushed into a French braid that was rolled into a neat bun. Her robes looked as though they had been made with gold thread and the finest silk that.

There were two other vampires next to Naomi that Hinata supposed were her advisors. The breathtaking woman on the left was one of the maids Hinata remembered other than Nikato. The man on the right was handsome, but stern-looking.

"What are you doing here?" Naomi asked, looking directly at Hinata, pulling her from her silent assessment.

"I'm here to get some answers," replied Hinata. "And I want to see where my mother lies."

Naomi narrowed her eyes at Hinata and then waved her hands to the two next to her. "Leave us," she told them and there were gone.

"I can see you remember," said Naomi. "But you've wasted your time coming here making such demands."

Hinata shook her head. "Iie. I mean to get answers from you and you have no right to keep me in the dark."

"Watch your mouth," snapped Naomi. "I can do as I please."

"I want to know about this clan, about my mother," Hinata pressed.

Naomi held her hand out in front of her to halt any more speaking. "Why do you want to know about us? No one here knew about you and it would be well that it remains that way."

Hinata fisted her hands at her side, Sasuke's anger meshing with her own. She vaguely noticed Naomi had not acknowledged his being there with so much as a glance.

"I don't care about others knowing about who I am," Hinata said heatedly. "I just want to get this over with so I can leave."

Naomi sighed irritably. "Unfortunately for all of us, the sun has set so you'll have no choice but to stay here for the next month. I'll have to deal with contagion until February."

"Then there's plenty of time," said Hinata, ignoring the very rude comment.

"What is the mixed blood doing here?" asked Naomi suddenly, turning up her nose as she said it. She looked at Sasuke as though he was something squished under her shoe.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," said Sasuke. "I'm Hinata's mate."

"Sure you are," said Naomi dismissively. "As much as I hate to admit it, the girl has my blood so you'll refer to her respectfully, so-called mate or not."

"No I don't have to refer to her like that she doesn't have to do it for my clan," Sasuke argued. "She's my mate. Why the hell-"

"How dare you use that tone with me!" Naomi said sharply. "You may be as pure as they get, Uchiha, but you're still beneath us."

Hinata could feel Sasuke was ready to blow and quickly spoke up. He had been doing well with his temper so far and she wanted it to stay that way.

"When will I get what I came for and get to do as I had planned?" asked Hinata.

Naomi was silent for a couple moments as though deep in thought.

"There's a stir in this area which means they know who you are," said Naomi mostly to herself. "Just what I need."

Hinata waited for her grandmother to speak.

"You'll stay for the month," the older woman said finally as though she was sure she would regret her decision. "You'll be treated as my granddaughter and the Uchiha shall be treated as a respected guest as well."

Hinata attempted to thank her.

"Don't be grateful to me yet," said Naomi. "This doesn't mean anything. You're still a filthy half-breed and the Uchiha is only staying here as such a guest because your blood is interlaced."

Her eyes looked distant for a flickering second and one of her advisors appeared. "Mariko, see to it that these two are looked after."

"Hai, Naomi-sama," said Mariko with a short bow.

--

Hinata and Sasuke were taken to another room instantly and she was sure she would never get used to their way of getting around.

The room was enormous and everything was a golden shade or actually trimmed in gold. There was a large four-poster bed at the back of the room surrounded by a canopy.

The cream and gold-colored furniture, fluffy carpeting and everything else in the room was unlike anything Hinata had ever seen and she thought her house and the Uchiha's were well set, modestly speaking.

"Here is your room," said Mariko. "You'll be staying here until the month is over or whenever you wish to leave, should Naomi-sama permit it. Clothes and whatever you should need are provided for you and you can call on either me or any other servant of the palace by reaching out to us."

"Reaching out to you?" asked Sasuke.

"Hai. The servants always have their minds open so Naomi-sama or those higher in position than us may reach us."

"How do you do it?" asked Hinata. She only knew of reading body language and such to gauge a person's thoughts but she did not know she could actually touch another's mind.

Mariko looked as though she was trying her hardest not to roll her eyes. "Clearly you need to be trained better," she said.

"Just tell us and get out," said Sasuke. Hinata could tell he was very fed up at this point.

Mariko bit her lip to hold back any remark. "It's simple. Just think of someone in the palace and whatever you want and the appropriate servant will be of service to you."

That sounded easy enough to Hinata.

"Arigatou," she said.

Mariko gave a very slight and barely noticeable nod before she was gone in the blink of an eye.

"I hate them all," said Sasuke as soon as Mariko left. "Who the fuck do they think they are, talking down to us?"

"Don't swear, Sasuke," said Hinata and she pulled Sasuke towards the bed and they sat down, the bed shifting nicely.

"I'm so sorry for brining you here," said Hinata. "I had no idea it would be like this."

"I did," said Sasuke. "I was expecting the worst."

Hinata didn't want to think about anything else at the moment. "I'm thirsty," she said.

"Me too," Sasuke told her tiredly. He brought his wrist to his mouth and bit down, then held out his punctured hand to her. Hinata took it and offered her wrist as well and by the time they were full, they were both lying down, exhausted from their day.

Both Hinata and Sasuke climbed the length of the large bed, their hands and knees sinking as they went and got under the covers which seemed to smother them.

"Did Kaori touch you at any time?" Sasuke asked her.

Hinata thought back and remembered a few slight brushes here and there as she helped her put on her clothes, nothing significant.

"A little," she said. "Why?"

"Did it burn you?" Sasuke asked.

"Iie," said Hinata, wondering where her mate was going with this.

"It seems as though if you're not of pure blood, when you touch them, it burns," said Sasuke.

"Really?" Hinata said, her eyes widening. "I wonder why."

"I think it's because they are untouched by anything other than pure bloods," Sasuke told her. "You weren't burned."

"Did it leave a mark?" Hinata asked, already reaching to check.

"Iie."

Hinata's eyes drooped. "I guess we can test that out later," she said. "See if you really do burn when a pureblood touches you. I'm partly pure blood but not entirely so it'll be different, I suppose."

"Hn," Sasuke half grunted, half groaned as sleep tried to take over.

Hinata snuggled in the bed some more, feeling more comfortable than she had for the time she was travelling to get here.

"I hope tomorrow goes a little better," said Hinata as she lay facing Sasuke. He pulled her close, and she wrapped her limbs around him.

"Shh," Sasuke hushed. "Go to sleep."

No sooner had Sasuke said it, Hinata was drifting off to sleep. Her last thoughts were of the fact that she had finally met her grandmother face to face and she was every bit of the witch she thought she was. The members of the clan were no better so far either.

As soon as Hinata got what she wanted, she wanted to leave. The Uchiha may have looked like death but already, Hinata could tell the Hitomi was hell.

* * *

**_And that is the chapter my dear readers. I've made it a lot longer (4,144 in Word, 4, 678 on FF) since I took longer although I could have cut it short and updated last night. I didn't want to have just Sasuke's POV so I added some in Hinata's POV as well for you and also, I couldn't find the right place to end. That said, I hope you liked the chapter._**

**_If you have not read _A Happy Ending_ (Now a completed fic), _Hina hime_, or _Following the Sun_ please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	42. A Young Friend in Hell

**_Hi there readers. Really late update this time but I was extremely busy this weekend and stuff since I had a wedding to go to and had to get a lot of other things done, plus Monday was Independence Day so that was taken up as well. Anyway, no time for excuses I suppose so let's not waste anymore time._**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

**_

* * *

  
_**

**Chapter 42: A Young Friend in Hell  
**

**-----**

Hinata stirred from her deep sleep when there was movement nearby. Lashes parting groggily, her eyes found a strange girl changing the carnations on the other side of the room.

The girl looked around when Hinata sat up and gasped, immediately lowering her gaze.

"G-gomen, Hinata-sama," she said in a quiet and rushed voice. "I d-did not mean to wake you when you were sleeping so peacefully."

Hinata glanced down at Sasuke and saw that he was still sleeping.

"It's fine," she said softly. "What's your name?"

The girl's eyes widened inhumanly large as she glanced up for a moment and Hinata had to say she reminded her a lot of herself. Her age reminded her of Hanabi before she slipped into her moods and hinata found she would like the girl very much.

"I swear I didn't mean to disturb you," the girl said. "Please don't punish me."

It was Hinata's turn to look alarmed. "Punish you?"

A jerked nodding of the brunette's head was part of the answer. "You'll have me whipped, won't you?"

Hinata eased out of the bed slowly and approached the girl who looked a little younger than herself. "I won't do that to you just because you woke me up," said Hinata. She looked through the curtained windows. "In fact I should have been up a long time ago by the looks of it."

"Arigatou, Hinata-sama," the girl said. "I'm very grateful."

"You didn't tell me what your name is," said Hinata. "How old are you?"

"My name is Atsuko and I'm thirteen," was the reply. "I am assigned to your room."

Atsuko was really young but she certainly did not look it.

"Are you usually whipped?" Hinata asked her.

Atsuko shook her head. "Iie," she said. "I'm new to the job but it's only when I upset Naomi-sama, her guests, or someone of higher degree by making a silly mistake like dropping something expensive."

Hinata tried to get a grip of the conversation without letting her emotions take over. "But surely a whip can't harm you. You're a vampire so it will heal."

"It doesn't make it hurt any less," said Atsuko. "And it doesn't heal quickly."

"What do you mean?" asked Hinata.

Atsuko looked at her strangely. "You're really not from around here are you, Hinata-sama?" she asked. Before Hinata could answer, she continued still avoiding eye contact.

"A silver-chained whip is used. The silver slows the healing, cuts deeper, and makes it hurt more," said Atsuko. "It also leaves scars."

"I thought only self-inflicted wounds leave scars," said Hinata. She had realized that when she bit her wrist it would leave scars but not when Sasuke did it or when he bit her neck.

"Very few things on this earth can really hurt a vampire and silver is one of them," said Atsuko. "Shouldn't you know that?"

Hinata kept quiet at that. Why was everyone questioning her knowledge? She was there to learn after all.

Atsuko took the silence as Hinata being offended and quickly bowed. "Gomen, Hinata-sama. It's not my place to question you."

"Iie, said Hinata. "It's alright."

Hinata looked at the flowers in Atsuko's hand. "Those are still pretty much alive. Why change them?" she asked.

"We change the flowers every day," Atsuko answered.

"Why?"

"That's just how it is."

Hinata stared at the flowers. "I've noticed that there's only carnations and snowdrops growing here, why is that?"

Hinata asked because in her memories, she could not remember any flowers. She and her mother were in an open field bare of anything but grass but yet there were many flowers and she wondered why that was so.

"It's true that you really lived with humans then?" asked Atsuko. "You don't seem to know anything about our realm or much about vampires at all."

The girl slapped a hand to her mouth. "I keep speaking out of turn. I'm so sorry!"

Hinata stopped Atsuko before she would likely catch a panic attack. "Iie, just tell me about the flowers."

"H-hai. The flowers here change with every month," Atsuko explained. "When the month turns, the flowers for that month dies and the others grow instead. Next month will be primroses and violets."

"That's amazing," Hinata said mostly to herself.

Atsuko gave her another weird look as though she had descended from another world.

The rustling of sheets caught Hinata's attention and she turned to see Sasuke rubbing his eye as he turned over, not waking up.

"Sasuke's not that heavy of a sleeper," said Hinata. "Why is he not up yet?"

"I'm not sure," said Atsuko. "Maybe he was really tired."

And tired he was because he woke up the next day while Hinata and Atsuko were talking about the different families within the clan.

Hinata had thought everyone was mixed into one big family but that was not so. Atsuko told her that some families were 'bred' for different purposes. Servants and feeders and such and then there were the royal families. The girl told her someone would introduce her to them all.

* * *

Sasuke woke up when he heard the enthusiastic voice of Hinata talking to someone. He sat up and looked in the direction of the voices to see Hinata and another girl who stood up immediately from the stool she had been sitting on next to Hinata to bow gracefully.

"Gomen," she said. "I've not only disturbed Hinata-sama but you also, Uchiha-san."

"Whatever," said Sasuke. He was still bitter about everything that had happened so far and thought the girl would be no different in annoying the hell out of him with nasty remarks.

Looking past the girl and seeing Hinata made him thirsty and seeing around Hinata's eyes darken slightly, her mark threatening to appear let him know she was thirsty as well.

The girl, whoever she was, must have caught on. "Are you thirsty?" she asked.

"Who are you?" he asked her. He didn't like the idea of waking up and finding someone he didn't know in his room—his temporary room anyway.

"M-my name is Atsuko," the girl said shyly. She still had not looked up and Sasuke realized she probably was not supposed to look anyone in the eyes as a servant procedure or something; some kind of submissive gesture. He didn't like it.

There were a lot of things about this realm he didn't like and he knew this was just the beginning.

"I had asked if you are thirsty," said Atsuko. "You've been sleeping for quite a while."

Sasuke chose that moment to look outside and saw that it was way past noon and well into the afternoon. Had he really been sleeping past dawn?

"How long were we sleeping?" asked Hinata. "You make it sound like we were sleeping for ever. I know Sasuke was sleeping for over a day though."

"You were sleeping for four days, Hinata-sama. Uchiha-san had been sleeping for five."

Sasuke and Hinata stared at Atsuko blankly.

"Four days?" asked Hinata, the shock was clearly written on her face but Sasuke tried not to show his surprise.

"Hai," the girl confirmed. "Today is Friday."

Sasuke raked a hand through his messy hair. The only way both he and Hinata would sleep so long would be if…

"That witch," Sasuke said to himself. Naomi probably had them drugged or something. "We were given something to drink. What was it?" he asked Atsuko.

Atsuko looked thoughtful. "Probably a tonic to help you rest but to be quite honest it shouldn't have affected you the way it did. It's only supposed to last until dawn the next day to ensure a peaceful sleep."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the girl standing next to his mate. He had just realized that she had not made a rude comments about Hinata or himself and wondered why.

"Maybe that's because I'm a Mixed Blood and Hinata's a Half Blood," said Sasuke, waiting for her reaction. He shared a look with Hinata.

The reaction was not the scorn he's been expecting but merely interest. "Really?" she asked. "I suppose it would have a different effect then."

Sasuke could tell that at least in hell there was one person who was not so bad.

"And speaking of drinking, I've been asking if you two are thirsty. I know you took your own wrist, Hinata-sama. Do you usually do that?"

"Hai," said Hinata. "Why?"

"Excuse me," said Atsuko and she disappeared and reappeared in what Sasuke knew was less that five seconds a gold knife in hand. "What are your tastes?" she asked.

"Brunette?" Hinata asked more than told the girl. Sasuke was not sure where Atsuko was going with this.

"That's good. Who'd like to drink first?" she asked, pointing the pointed tip at the base of her palm.

"Drink?" what are you talking about?" asked Sasuke, and then understanding dawned on him. This was the 'personal feeders' he had heard about. "Iie. We're good. There's no need to cut yourself."

Atsuko finally looked up at them both questioningly, her large, piercing eyes full of confusion. "How—what will you drink then? You can't get much nourishment from drinking your own blood."

"We take each other's blood," Hinata explained.

"But neither yours nor Uchiha-san's blood is completely pure from what you've told me," said Atsuko. "How do you survive on such thin blood?"

"We've been managing quite well," said Sasuke, his lightening mood dropping once again. "We'd like to be alone now."

Atsuko bowed, not looking up again. "Gomen. I have offended you again," she said miserably. "I'll be whipped for sure."

What was she talking about?

"You haven't offended us," said Hinata. "Arigatou."

Atsuko left with another bow.

---

Hinata turned and walked towards him. "Ohayo," she said.

"Ohayo," Sasuke replied. "I've been sleeping for five days."

Hinata nodded. "I don't believe it either," she told him.

"We have to be careful here," said Sasuke. "Look at how easily we were knocked out."

"At least Atsuko seems nice," Hinata said.

"What was she going on about saying she would be whipped?" asked Sasuke.

Hinata told him about what the small girl had told her and about the flowers and everything else they two had been talking about until he woke up.

"This clan is so messed up," Sasuke said. "It's not even funny."

Sasuke watched as Hinata turned away to go to the other room he assumed was the bathroom and saw that she was in her underwear.

He could not believe she was walking around like that. Sasuke looked down and saw that his clothing was gone as well and now that he though about it, he didn't feel as though he'd really been sleeping for four days.

He could still feel the tingle of the soap which could only mean that he's probably been sponged off or something of the like while they had been sleeping.

Sasuke honestly did not know if he could go through a whole month of living in the Hitomi realm. Child labor, whips, degrading comments; what else?

Sasuke got up from the large bed, his feet barely touching the fluffy carpeting as he followed Hinata into the bathroom to have a bath, freshen up, and get some blood.

He could see they were going to have to take it one day at a time to make it through.

* * *

**_That's the end of the chapter readers! I've been somewhat distracted again this week because I have a lot going on and quite a bit of catching up to do on fics, anime, and manga. I could have had this up last night but I lazed out by watching Twilight again and then New Moon _again_, then reading and was watching the Alicia Keys concert and then it was too late to even reread although I finished before going to bed. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and the new info I gave you. There's going to be more new info coming as well so look out for that. _**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_ (now a completed fic), or _Following the Sun_, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	43. Tour of the Hitomi Realm

**_Time is really flying, isn't it? Soon it'll be Christmas and then New Year and we'll be in 2010. It seems as though even though I update every week for both my fics, I end up not updating on the weekend for some reason BUT I will update nonetheless unless I'm sick or something, alright?_**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

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**Chapter 43: Tour of the Hitomi Realm**

**-----**

Saturday morning at dawn found Hinata and Sasuke waking with the sun.

Sasuke opened his bleary eyes and sat up just as Hinata did the same. She smiled at him. "Did you sleep well?" she asked him.

Of course that had to be a rhetorical question. All the frustrations that they had had for the past couple of days and not taking blood for that time left both of them hungry and thirsty, leading to certain activities the night before. It was definitely a good way to release the tension.

He was just disappointed they kept their noise level to a minimum.

"Hn," Sasuke sounded with a shrug of his shoulders before he smirked at her. "It was alright."

Hinata feigned a pout and tossed the covers off before heading to the bathroom, making Sasuke grin as she left, getting up to follow her footsteps. Why waste water? The burn was easier to bear when he had her to distract him anyway.

The water was running before he got to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He took off his boxers and pulled the screen across so he could join his mate.

Sasuke hissed as the water touched his skin, watching as Hinata barely winced. It didn't burn her as much since she had pure blood but it was downright uncomfortable for Sasuke.

The thought that he would never get used to the muddy, bloody water that washed from him came to mind when he looked down to see the reddish-brown water go down the drain.

As she had done the day before, Hinata helped ease the sting by gently massaging his skin. They both took each others' wrists before stepping from under the sprays of water to brush their teeth and get dressed.

When they came out of the bathroom, they were met with the sight of Atsuko, who had her head bowed and eyes to the floor.

"I hope you slept well, Sasuke-san, Hinata-sama," the girl said before raising her head to look at them as they had asked her to do. "I've been asked to inform you that you'll be given a tour of the realm and meet the royal families in half an hour."

"Arigatou, Atsuko-chan," said Hinata. "Who's going to be taking us?"

"Mariko-san," Atsuko answered. "She'll show you everything and you'll meet the Royals; even get to meet my sister."

"Your sister?"

It was Sasuke who asked this. "I thought vampires are only allowed to bear one child. No one here is human, right?"

Atsuko looked a little sad but she shook it off quickly. "That's right," she said."

"Then has your mother passed away?" Hinata asked carefully.

"Iie," Atsuko answered. She continued before either Hinata or himself could ask her to explain. "My father is of a royal family but my mother is not—she is a maid. My father was already with a mate when I was born but not mated to my mother. He is in an arranged marriage. That's part of the reason why no one here in the inner realm is to call me by my real name."

"What's your given name then?" asked Hinata.

"Aiko."

Sasuke understood. Her father had cheated on Atsuko's sister's mother and had a love child. A child that was now working as a servant at the age of thirteen as a silent punishment, it seemed.

"Kaa-san said she doesn't regret having me but she's punished everyday because everyone says it's her fault. It's not like it hasn't happened before, but Nobuko-san and Yoichi-san, my step mother and father, are of very high position. "

To be honest, Sasuke had never thought vampires would cheat once they had a mate unless the other died or something, but, apparently, he was wrong.

He also noticed that she addressed the man or woman with honorifics. Clearly, she was not close to them. Then again, Naomi had wanted him to use honorifics with Hinata so it may be just the case with everyone who was not a Royal.

"What do you mean by 'punished' everyday?" asked Hinata. "She isn't whipped, is she?"

Atsuko shook her head. "Iie, she's banished from the Inner realm, where the Royals are," said Atsuko. "She doesn't make a lot of money so I'm helping her out."

"And your father?" asked Sasuke.

"What about him?"

"Shouldn't he be supporting you?" asked Sasuke. "You're his child and your mother was with him-"

"-He must at lest care," Hinata added.

"That means nothing," Atsuko said nonchalantly.

That was answer enough that the girl truly didn't care. He could see the bitterness on her face that replaced the shy demeanor she usually had.

Sasuke then waited until Atsuko made the bed before lying in it to listen to her speak with Hinata.

"Are you on good terms with your sister though?" asked Hinata. "How old is she? What is she like?"

"You could say we get along fine although Kamiko's a bit snobby in my opinion. I don't think she can help that with the mother she has. Siblings don't occur here too often so we cherish that we're a little different—at least I do," the thirteen-year-old told Hinata as they sat by the window. She fiddled with the hem of her blue apron. "Nobuko-san doesn't like when she spends time with me."

---

Sasuke listened as the two girls chatted nonstop for another twenty or so minutes. He had never known Hinata could be so talkative to anyone else other than who she was close with like himself or Ino.

Sasuke had long since stopped hearing what the two were talking about when Mariko suddenly materialized.

Atsuko stood up immediately, head bowed. "I take my leave," she said, before disappearing after Hinata smiled at her. Sasuke figured the girl was probably not supposed to converse beyond necessary with guests from the look Mariko had giver her.

"Ohayo, Hinata-sama, Uchiha-san," said Mariko. "Are you ready for your tour?"

"Hai," Hinata answered.

Before Sasuke or Hinata had time to register it, they found themselves outside the palace by the gates.

"Let's start from the beginning," said Mariko. "This is the Hitomi realm. The oldest and only pureblood clan in Mizugakure as well as some of the neighboring countries…"

Sasuke peeked at Hinata and saw that she was listening in earnest interest but he was bored out of his mind and the tour had only began.

"There are other clans scattered across the countries," Mariko continued. "But none are as prestigious or as pure as the Hitomi, most of them becoming more contaminated over the past two hundred or so years."

Kami, he was starting to hate that word 'contaminated.'

Mariko proceeded to lead them up the steps and into the palace.

"This is the Main Hall," Mariko said. "From here we go to the Throne Room. Naomi-sama is currently in her chambers and has permitted us entry."

Mariko showed them into the Throne Room, asking them to touch nothing as though they were small children before stating when the structure was built, who designed the room, past leaders; the works.

* * *

By the time they had finished with the palace it was past noon and Hinata was still humming with excitement.

It wasn't the fact that she was given a tour of the palace and realm. It was that she was seeing where her mother had spent most of her life. She was seeing where her mother slept, ate; she was walking in her footsteps.

Hinata could tell that Sasuke was bored out of his mind even if he was somewhat impressed. By the time they were given a short break to res before the tour continued, they were both a little tired.

The break didn't last very long, just for about fifteen minutes and then they were off again, Mariko taking them back into the Main Hall where there were people waiting on them.

"These are the leaders of the royal families," said Mariko. "Otherwise known as the Royals. They are also members of the council who help Naomi-sama in her excellent judgment in ruling the realm."

Hinata heard Sasuke sniff, probably to stifle a snort and nearly grinned at him. Instead, she smiled at those that were introduced to her as well as Sasuke.

"Here is Arisu-san," Mariko told Hinata. There was a curt nod from the tall woman. "And Kazuhiko-san. Here is their son Eri-san…"

Hinata plastered a smile as she was introduced to them all. She tried not to be as rude as they were by holding out her hand to shake but they looked at her as though she was mad for suggesting she touch them.

She could not help the narrowing of her eyes when Nobuko, Yoichi, and Kamiko were introduced. They looked liked the perfect family, all polite smiles despite the usual demeaning comment, but Hinata did not really mind that.

She did have a problem with Kamiko and the way she was looking at Sasuke and at her. It was mainly the way she was staring at Sasuke that really bothered Hinata though. It was a mix of curiosity, disgust, but intrigue.

When the introductions were over—which Hinata was glad for as she did not have interest in the people who helped arrange the mate for her mother that caused her to run away from home—Mariko then led the way through the city, pointing out various buildings of importance.

"Here is where the Inner Realm is bordered and the Outer Realm is," Mariko informed them. "The village, if you may call it so."

As far as Hinata could see, there was no major difference to a normal wealthy human neighborhood what with the towering houses with white gates. They were introduced to a few of the families there.

The tour stretched on with Mariko telling about the history of the realm and the likes. Both Sasuke and Hinata asked questions with Hinata asking about the flowers and fields.

Mariko explained it in a similar way Atsuko had and also explained, speaking of the different flowers and said that the only time flowers or other plants would die would be if they were touched by the likes of humans or those of humans.

Of course, she had not put it so lightly, "The flowers and plants will only die if they were touched by something extremely filthy like a muddy human or the little animal they bear."

Hinata had to hold Sasuke back from rapping her upside the head.

---

"And that brings us to the end of the tour," Mariko said when they were back at the front of the palace.

"We haven't been to the burial grounds," said Hinata. That was what she had been waiting for from the beginning.

"Gomen," said Mariko, catching onto why Hinata would want to visit. "Demo… the burial grounds, as well as some other areas of the realm, are not a part of the tour. The Outer Realm has a burial ground of their own as well but I'm sure you're not interested in that. If you want to visit your mother, you'd have to ask Naomi-sama."

Hinata had figured as much. Mariko carried them to their room.

"Arigatou, Mariko-san," said Hinata. "I will ask her as soon as I can."

"If there is anything you need or have questions about, feel free to reach out to me," Mariko said with a smile to Hinata and Sasuke.

Hinata briefly returned it before the woman left and then turned to Sasuke.

"I've never experienced such a long day," Hinata commented. She ran to the bed and flopped on it, the foam of it and the sheets nearly swallowing her

"It's probably another one of the tricks of this place," said Sasuke and that was probably true.

In her mind, there was no way they should have been able to tour the majority of the realm in one day. She looked outside to see that the sun was now setting, casting golden light on everything in its reach, only making the realm look richer and more magical that it already did.

Hinata and Sasuke spent the rest of the evening talking about what they had seen and heard. Then they had a bath and went by the window to look outside. There was a light mist clouding the area but to Hinata it looked beautiful.

She had realized that in the realm there was no snow, it was not even cold even though while on her way there it was definitely cold and snowing. She had asked Mariko about it and the woman had told her that even though the lands surrounding the realm was experiencing the effects of winter, the Hitomi were not very fond of extreme cold, preferring the sun.

They kept the winter months a little chilly so the flowers would be most beautiful but not cold enough that it would be of discomfort to anyone. Hinata then understood why no one there was pale but instead a rich, glowing, caramel color as his father had somewhat described her mother to be.

After a while Atsuko came to wish them a goodnight, asking them what they thought of her home. Sasuke was brutally honest, saying it was hell on earth under the disguise of heaven and he couldn't wait to leave, but Hinata had told the little girl she liked it.

She really did have a good day, even though they both got quite a lot of attention, whether it be good or bad, and if she could get some more information out of her grandmother, Hinata felt she could withstand anything that was thrown her way.

She went to sleep that night in Sasuke's arms, feeling as though she really was accomplishing something.

* * *

**_This has to be the latest update I've done in a while, ne? Thursday… wow. I hope that doesn't happen again because the truth was I was just lazy this time lol! Please forgive me. Anyway, I made the chapter 2,700 words if it helps. Also sorry about such a late chapter; it was a little later since my internet was dogging me for about a day or so and, apparently, it was island-wide (Barbados is a small place) when I had the intention of getting the chapter to you a lot sooner._**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_ (now a completed fic), or _Following the Sun_ please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	44. Getting What She Wants Part 1

**_Hi there all! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all who don't read Hina hime (I know that I'm SUPER! Late since it's February but I really had planned on getting this to you A LOT sooner). I hope you guys enjoyed your holidays and are enjoying your year so far, mine was good but hectic, one of the reasons why I've taken so long to update; I hope I didn't make you wait too long even though I know it was a really long wait. After all the fuss of the season and stuff, I went under a MAJOR block that I haven't yet surfaced from but I can't keep you guys waiting any longer; it's not fair to you. I'm not sure how this format will come out since I'm using some kind of crappy Microsoft I'm not used to. Not much else to say so let's get on with it._**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!!!_**

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**Chapter 44: Getting What She Wants Part 1**

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Over the next two weeks, Hinata and Sasuke were starting to get the hang of things.

Hinata and Sasuke had learned about the ways of the people of the clan. Mariko, though she was not very happy with the arrangement had taught Hinata some of the basic secrets of the Hitomi. She was taught how to materialize as all Hitomi were able to do and was learning the history of the clan even though that was not what she was interested in the least.

After the first tour, they were allowed to walk around without the fear of being lost and so Hinata had a wild time exploring both the Inner and Outer Realm with Sasuke. Sometimes they parted for adventures of their own as well, leaving in the morning and not returning to their room until later in the evening.

It was evident that Naomi was steering clear of Hinata. Whenever Hinata was outside, the clan leader was in her chambers and whenever Hinata requested an audience with the woman, Mariko always said Naomi was busy and attending meetings or dealing with important matters.

But Hinata was having none of it. She got out of bed as soon as she woke up at dawn and went straight to the shower. Sasuke watched her as she got ready.

"Where are you going?" he asked her, his eyes raking over her half-dressed state.

"I'm going to see Naomi," Hinata told him. "She has been avoiding me. I have not seen her once since the first time we came to the Realm."

"Tch! As if not seeing the witch is such a bad thing," Sasuke snorted. He had taken up to calling her that even more than before, often switching between the W and B often to refer to her as a bitch among other names.

"I'm not particularly fond of the idea of seeing her, you know," said Hinata. "I just want answers about my mother; about the part of me that's missing."

Hinata knew that she probably said that a million times but she did not care. She had reached the point where she was sure she would explode if she did not get what had she had to the Realm for.

Sasuke got up and walked towards Hinata to hold her close.

"I know, "He said. "I also know that it's about time we settled all this so we can go home when this month is up."

Hinata nodded and then kissed Sasuke briefly before she made to leave. As she was about to, Atsuko appeared; a fresh bunch of flowers in hand.

"Ohayo, Hinata-sama, Sasuke-san," the girl greeted with a short bow. "You're out of bed early."

"Hai," Hinata said after both she and Sasuke greeted Atsuko. "I have to get some thing done today that I've been putting on hold for too long."

"Hai, Hinata-sama. I hope it works out," said Atsuko, and the girl started to busy herself around the room as Hinata turned her focus to Sasuke.

"I hope it goes well," said Sasuke. "Be careful, this is one sick clan."

Hinata smiled nervously. She knew that first hand. She had learned a lot about the Hitomi over the weeks and one of those things was that they were not all nice people in the least.

They were beautiful, rich in culture, and graceful with class but they were also demons like Hinata had never known. It was one thing to be a vampire, but to behave the way the Hitomi did was something completely different.

More than once, they had been insulted to the point where Hinata was sure Sasuke would be asked to leave the realm had it not been for her calming him down.

Sasuke's temper was getting worse as the days went by because of it all and always had Hinata on edge when they had to leave their room.

Hinata's patience alone was wearing so thin that she was sure she would snap at any moment as well, so she could understand just what her mate was going through. As she looked at him, Hinata could tell that he was worried about her going off on her own to see her grandmother.

"I'll be fine," Hinata reassured Sasuke. "I'm just going to Naomi. I know she's been expecting me long before now otherwise she wouldn't be hiding; it's been three weeks."

Sasuke leaned forward to catch Hinata's lips in a chaste kiss.

"Good luck," he said.

* * *

Hinata left the room in the blink of an eye and was in the Main Hall before she knew it. The Throne Room was blocked from all apparition or materialization.

With her goal set, Hinata shoved her way through the doors of the Throne Room dramatically to find her grandmother sitting there in all her gold-threaded gown. Only Mariko was there; Hinata did not know where the other adviser was.

"You cannot just barge in here as though you own the place!" said an outraged Mariko, who was at Naomi's side. Hinata could tell that the woman was holding back. Though Mariko was better than most, she was still of the Hitomi clan; insults were engraved at the tip of her tongue from birth.

"It seems to be the only way I can get things I want around here," Hinata said, ignoring the woman as she addressed Naomi, walking the length of the room to where her grandmother was seated in all her glorious robes and beauty. "Naomi, I want answers. I want to see where mother, and I want to know now."

"How dare you speak to the leader of this clan in such a manner!" Mariko said hotly; Naomi had yet to say a word.

"I don't think I was speaking to you, Mariko," said Hinata and the woman kept quiet.

Finally, Naomi spoke. "Mariko, leave us."

The adviser did as was told but not without a slight protest.

"Now, Mariko."

When the woman was gone, Naomi turned her attention to her granddaughter. "What are you doing disturbing me at this time of the morning?" she asked Hinata.

"You're never around when I want to talk to you," Hinata replied. "You're always avoiding me."

"I don't need to avoid you," Naomi stated.

"But you are," Hinata countered. She walked up the steps to stand directly in front of Naomi. "I don't see why you're doing this-"

"I am not doing anything," Naomi cut it as she inspected her freshly polished nails.

"I'm your granddaughter!" Hinata said hotly, hands on her hips. "Surely that counts for something?"

"It hasn't from the time you were born," said Naomi casually.

"How can you be so cruel?" Hinata asked in a fury. "What the hell have I done to you? Sure, I'm a Half blood, my blood's thinner than yours, my mate's a Mixed blood, and my father and his side of the family are humans but I wasn't a mistake. You drove my mother away so don't go blaming anyone but yourself. Why do you insist on treating me like I'm nothing to you?!"

"Because you are a constant reminder of her!" Naomi said sharply as she suddenly stood up, her height above Hinata's. "A reminder that I should have never let my only child out of my sight even for a minute and she would still be alive and not that brat of a sibling. I don't know why I allowed her to see your murderer of a father after they had you. And a part of him is with you. That's what they are, humans. Murders," she finished.

Hinata realized that the woman did not express any negative feelings for her but for Hanabi and her father mainly it seemed. After all, it was the birth of her younger sister that caused her mother's death.

Not only that, but there was something much deeper going on. The way Naomi spoke of humans wasn't the normal degrading comments as from other members. She intended to find out before she left.

"I understand that but it has nothing to do with me," said Hinata, steering the attention from herself in the early, but she was sure that Naomi would resume it sooner or later. "I'm not the cause of my mother's death. I just want to see her, onegai."

Naomi sighed. "Iie."

"Nani?!" answered Hinata. She was ready to hear her grandmother say yes. "Why not?"

"I will not let my daughter's resting place be tarnished by the likes of a filthy half-breed," Naomi told her. "Whether you have pure blood or not."

"I'm not just some 'filthy half-breed," Hinata protested. "I'm her fu- damned daughter!"

"How dare you speak to me in that manner!" Naomi said, her anger rising along with the hairs on Hinata's skin. "You're an outsider; you don't belong here."

"I want to know about her, about the piece of me that's missing," Hinata said after a while of silence. "I don't want to hear it from Mariko or some other member of this clan. I want to hear it from you. How can anyone here accept me if all I'm seen as is an outsider?"

Hinata watched as the older woman's long thick lashes fan her cheeks as she closed her eyes briefly in irritation.

"Clearly you don't have any understanding," said Naomi. "Why are you insisting so much on this?"

"Because you are insisting on keeping me in the dark!" answered Hinata. "You erased my memories of her and of the clan, my family. Do you really think I came here just to visit my 'loving grandmother'?"

"Don't start," Naomi warned. "You have no right coming into my Throne Room speaking to me like this."

Hinata felt like pulling out her hair. Why the hell was the woman being so difficult? Hinata was not asking for much. She wasn't asking to rule the Realm after Naomi did, nor was she asking for riches or whatever greedy people asked for.

Running her fingers through her hair to curb the temptation of ripping it out altogether, Hinata sighed.

Naomi sat down again gracefully and regarded Hinata. Finally, she sighed in what Hinata assumed to be defeat. "I will allow you to see her."

Hinata's eyes widened as she heard this. "Really?" she said, a disbelieving tone coming through the shock that the woman had given in.

"Hai," Naomi confirmed. "I'm tired of you annoying me constantly. Here was a peaceful place before you and that mixed-blood arrived and I can't wait for it to be that way again. I'll show you your mothers tomb and inform you of some things. That way, when you leave, you leave for good."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hinata, referring to when Naomi said she and Sasuke had stirred up the clan somehow.

"You and the mixed-blood have caused quite a stir among the members of this clan," said Naomi. "Yes, I know that you're a fairly good-looking child and Uchiha are known for their fairness but it's utterly ridiculous they've been acting since you came. Even the Royals are interested."

Hinata smiled when Naomi said she was good-looking. She knew she heard a faint amount of pride there. But then she frowned at hearing that people were interested in both herself and Sasuke.

She could still remember the way Atsuko's sister had been looking at her mate. She also noticed faintly how some others regarded them both but thought nothing of it before now.

Hinata switched the subject. "When am I going to see my mother?" asked Hinata.

"I will let you know," Naomi told her. "Be patient or I may change my mind."

Hinata dropped it, not wanting to ruin the woman's apparent good mood. "Bye," Hinata said before turning away and she went out of the room; Naomi had not replied.

A smile was on Hinata's face as she materialized to her room when she was out of the Throne Room.

When she got there she was shocked at what she saw and the smile left in an instant.

* * *

**_Alright readers I must end this here although I wanted to have Sasuke's POV in this chapter as well but I've been writing this chapter for like a month or more(yea I know, it's ridiculous!) and I didn't want you to wait any longer than you were. I know I have been bad not updating so long but I've been highly distracted with my bf; I can't get enough of him lol! Somehow he's weaned me off reading and writing to talk to him more. I promise that I'll start updating my fics every week again though, I just have to get back on the bus and we'll be rolling once more. _**

**_By the way, I've changed the genre to Romance/Supernatural instead of Romance/Humor because the fic is growing away from the humor, i think. _**

**_OH! And I have put up a new poll on my profile so please be sure to vote, it's important and involves _****Hina hime****_. Thanks!_**

**_If you have not read _****Hina hime****_, _****A Happy Ending****_, or _****Following the Sun****_ please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	45. Getting What She Wants Part 2

**_Hi there readers! I'm so very sorry for not updating until now but I've been under the weather; you could say. Not sick more than I usually am really but I've been under a bit of stress (I still am) and if I had tried to write or draw, I would have broken something. Also, the world of Kpop/Jpop/Cpop and everything that goes along with it has taken over my life as well apparently, so that's another obsession that has been trying to overcome my reading and writing of fics as well as trying to catch up on other things I've missed out on from nearly 24 hour addictiveness to fan fiction. I also have a job now and though I love it, it takes a toll on me. I have to be in a moving vehicle while reading and writing since it's like an office on wheels and that has never panned out for me as I have motion sickness but I've been getting over it for the time I've worked. I apologize to all my readers, past, present, and future and I hope you'll continue to bear with me. I can't promise you weekly updates as I've promised in the past, but I can promise you that I will finish my fics (maybe not Following the Sun, as I've lost interest in that - that has not happened before). With nothing else to be said at the moment, let's not waste anymore time._**

**_Excuse any errors and R&R!_**

* * *

**Chapter 45: Getting What She Wants Part 2**

After Hinata left, Sasuke just went into the bath himself for a 'good scalding' as he'd come to call it and then lounge around until she returned so they could spend the day together.

Atsuko was still bustling around the room a good while after Hinata had left but she was not bothering him so he didn't mind her there. Occasionally, she would ask him a few questions about himself and his clan, what school was like for humans, and so on.

Sasuke was now lying in bed as Atsuko rearranged the items on the table next to it.

"What is it like to take blood from the veins?" the girl asked after a couple of seconds into silence.

"It depends on the situation," said Sasuke. "When feeding, it's just food. If it's for other reasons then the taste can vary even if it's from the same person. Sometimes just feeding can lead to a circumstance where it would be more. For example medicinal if you're sick, elixir if you're on the brink of death."

Sasuke tried to explain as best he could to the little girl without giving too many details.

Yes, blood was food but it could be medicinal if you were sick. It could be a way of communicating, reading someone. A way to connect personally with a lover or enhance lovemaking. A source to connect two or more people.

He'd been interested in the way of living for vampires since he was a child and had asked Itachi many times of different subjects as Atsuko was doing. He was glad he could answer a couple queries without demolishing her innocence to most topics regarding her nature.

Atsuko nodded in understanding. "Since your blood is so thin compared to that of Purebloods, what does it taste like? Would it fill another vampire?"

"Hai," Sasuke stated. "Blood is blood. It will satisfy you just fine if it's to your tastes."

"Oka-san told me a human's blood is like muddy, rusty water or the foulest thing to eat, a Mixed blood's is like the most basic food no one really likes but would eat if starving or what most would tolerate, and a Pureblood's is like the finest caviar or wine, the rarest there is."

Already, they were trying to poison the girl into feeling superior. Yes, her description was vaguely true but that did not mean it should be distinctly categorized nor was the description accurate. The thicker the rarer, the thinner more common.

"That's not necessarily true," Sasuke told her. "It really comes down to the vampire's taste. A human's blood can be the best thing you've ever tasted if they are your taste or mate."

"Haiiii," said Atsuko. "But the Hitomi don't say that. "Anything thinner than pure is nasty is our view."

Well, there went Sasuke's tolerance for Atsuko. He irritably got up and shrugged on a robe over the light one he'd been wearing.

The girl seemed to had caught on. "Oh no! Not our as in my view - did I offend you, Sasuke-san?" she asked as she wrung her hands nervously.

"Not anymore than anyone else in this place," Sasuke replied.

"I don't think your blood is nasty!" Atsuko said hastily. She looked away shyly, head down to look at his bare feet as she spoke. "…In truth I find myself wondering what it tastes like. Almost everyone here does."

Sasuke paused in his steps to the door. "Nani?"

"Many here are curious to know what Mixed blood such as yours tastes like, especially since you were human before," Atsuko explained. She seemed to e struggling to find the correct words. "You smell…different. Even Hinata-sama smells Pure."

Sasuke frowned at hearing this. If the little brat said he smelled bad or something he was going to throw her through the window, he swore.

He could see the girl still struggled with the right words to express herself.

"It's like you smell like something I'm not able to understand yet… but whatever it is, I'm dying to know what it is unconsciously. Like grabbing in the dark for something I know is there."

That wasn't good. It sounded as though she was about to become S2 any day now, since she was clearly feeling preference to taste.

Sasuke would hate to think that he would be the one to awaken Atsuko at such a young age of thirteen, but then again, Itachi had been around her age. Still, it would not do to have the child awaken tastes for him.

"I suppose the adults would know what it is, my sister certainly does but she won't tell me," said Atsuko. "I told her about the feeling a couple days ago and she said when the time came, I would know."

"You'll find out in time," Sasuke told her, heading, once more, for the door. Before he could reach for the door knob, Atsuko was there; he hadn't even registered blinking.

"Would you show me?"

Sasuke did not like where this situation was going since he could sense the thirst itching to surface.

"It's not my place," said Sasuke. "When you're ready, it'll happen."

"I know, I don't mean that," Atsuko told him. "I mean what your blood tastes like. Can you please show me?"

The answer was immediate.

"Iie."

Atsuko moved closer, her eyes wide. "No one else here would show me, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke's felt his stomach drop at the fact that his thirst was now emerging, answering her own. He tried to fight it.

"Your eyes are changing color," said Atsuko fearfully. "Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to demand anything of you, I swear!"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sasuke looked away and then stepped back to distance himself from her.

"It's ok," he said. He sent out his senses and felt that Hinata was still in the Throne room and her emotions were flaring, meaning she was probably in the midst of a heated argument with her grandmother. That meant she wouldn't be near soon to get rid of this thirst; he'd have to bite his wrist.

"Look, Atsuko," he started. "My thirst is acting up since I didn't have any blood for the day yet so I need to go take my wrist. If you don't have anything else to do then you should leave."

The girl perked up. "I can give you blood if you want."

Why was she being so difficult?

"Iie. I told you before that I'm fine with my own blood or Hinata's," said Sasuke.

"Can I watch then, Sasuke-san?"

"Iie, Atsuko."

"Onegai?"

"I said no."

"Why not?"

Sasuke realized the girl was becoming more demanding, her true Pure blood nature shining through.

"Because I said so," Sasuke said. He more like his brother now than anything, remembering the way he nagged Itachi at every possible moment.

"_Show me, onega_i."

-

* * *

Sasuke felt everything within him taken over by force; even his breathing, blinking his eyes was controlled. He struggled as all thought waned. He fought the force with everything he had, aware that it was Atsuko's doing.

Sasuke battled with the force until he was able to at least stabilize his breathing.

The girl was pretty much out of it, from his mild understanding on the whole situation, and probably had no idea what she was doing and if she did, faint knowledge or none at all that she was controlling him.

Were the Hitomi able to take control over others as well as everything else they were capable of doing?

He figured so.

Even though Sasuke was able to hang on to his senses, he was helpless. It was as though he was in someone else's body, looking through their eyes as they walked toward the bed and sat at the edge.

"You're really showing me?" Atsuko asked, her voice had dulled, but the excitement was still evident in her tone.

Sasuke felt himself nod. "Sure, why not?" he heard himself say.

Atsuko walked over and flopped next to Sasuke, watching his every move attentively as he lifted his wrist to his mouth, baring his fangs.

Sasuke felt his breath on his pulse as it beat steadily beneath the pale skin, his sharp teeth drawing nearer.  
After what seemed like a lifetime, Sasuke felt his hand move closer to his mouth rather forcefully and figured the girl was impatient. He felt his fangs puncture the skin and vein as he bit down, the rush of blood filling his mouth as he drank. He was thirsty anyway so he guessed it couldn't hurt not to resist too much right then.

Sasuke drank until satisfied, glancing at the girl who sat next to him, utterly still and almost unblinkingly. So fascinated was she that Sasuke actually felt his cheeks heat up at the thought that someone found him taking blood so intriguing.

The reason for it niggled in the back of his brain though. Atsuko was only curious how he could drink his blood, seeing as it was so thin in her eyes. She most likely wanted to see if it would taste as plain as her mother had told her.

Sasuke pulled away his wrist slowly, still in a struggle to have a little control over his body. He hadn't been given the chance to lick the wound close and so a trail of blood dribbled from the punctures across his wrist to the back of his hand.

Before he knew what was happening, Atsuko had his hand cradled in her own, staring at the trail of drying blood.

"The color is almost the same as mine," she said. "What does it taste like?"

Sasuke, having little freedom of his thoughts, fought to string something that made sense together.

He has never really thought about the taste of his blood before, as it was just a necessity; just as water was to humans.

"It doesn't really have a taste to me, I suppose," Sasuke answered. "It depends on how thirsty I am but I'd say it's just faintly sweet but quenching…"

He knew Atsuko had not heard the last bit of what he had said because he could feel the change in her breathing.

Atsuko's pulse sped up; her eyes had not left his wrist since he stopped drinking and he could see her lidded eyes narrow in on the puncture wound.

"_Can I taste?_" asked Atsuko.

The tone she used was clearly a demand however. A demand that Sasuke was helpless to say no. He felt his mouth open to say the exact opposite of what he intended.

"Sure."

Atsuko's face lethargically gave relief to a smile, showing her newly edged teeth and when she looked away from his wrist to his face, Sasuke saw her eyes had changed as well; tiny flecks of apparent glass danced in her colorless irises.

Grasping his hand with both her smaller ones, Atsuko brought it to her lips, starting to breathe more heavily and unevenly.

Sasuke wished with all his being for her to stop, come to her senses that she was becoming stage two before she was ready but his mind could not find the proper strategy to stop her. He knew the way to stop her but he, somehow, could not remember how. It was as though she blocked all coherent thought leading to him stopping her.

"Kami, these people will kill me if she drinks my 'filthy blood,'" Sasuke thought.

Sasuke's hair stood on end as it all seemed to happen in slow motion, his body relaxed under her lips against his will.

Atsuko's fangs broke through his flesh, piercing fresh wounds beside the existing ones, searing the vein once more before suction was applied for her to drink.

Goosebumps littered Sasuke's skin at the feeling. No one else had taken his blood other than Hinata and his clan but they had not taken with their own fangs. It felt so wrong that Sasuke was near nausea.

Atsuko, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying herself. Eyes closed, she wore the most pleasure-felt expression as she drank hungrily and hastily as though unable to stop. In no time, she was crawling on him to get closer, fitting herself in his lap.

Sasuke prayed heartily for the girl to come to her senses before his arm lost all its feeling or Hinata came back.

He didn't think his prayers would be answered so soon.

* * *

"What's going on here?"

Sasuke sluggishly turned his head with much effort to see Hinata standing by the door before he saw her calculate the situation. She rushed over and tapped Atsuko rather harshly on the neck, knocking out the girl.

Hinata quickly lifted Atsuko from Sasuke's lap and lay her on the bed a little too roughly and then rounded on Sasuke, the sting of the slap to his cheek dispelling him from Atsuko's control completely.

"What was that for?" Sasuke asked, glad he was saying what he really wanted to.

Hinata glared at him. "Do you really have to ask?" she said. "I left you two here and come back to find Atsuko in your lap feeding on you. Not only that but you were _allowing_ it. She's thirteen! Why didn't you stop her? Was she already an S2?"

Sasuke was not accustomed to seeing Hinata so angry so the attitude caught him by surprise. He was speechless for a moment.

"Well? You could have tapped her."

"I-I don't know," Sasuke said dumbly. He still hadn't gotten his thoughts completely together. "I couldn't help it; she did something to me, controlled me. Do you really think I would have let her bite me willingly, Hinata?"

Hearing the question, Hinata calmed down somewhat. "What do you mean 'she did something to you'?"

Sasuke gave a brief account of what happened before Hinata had walked through the door, his mate listening carefully.

"She was able to control you but you had awareness?" asked Hinata. "No one told me the Hitomi were able to control the minds and bodies of others."

"Well they can and it's not pleasant," Sasuke told her. "The only reason I kept my senses was probably because Atsuko appeared to have no idea what she was doing and it was her first time doing it."

"I'll ask my grandmother about it later," said Hinata.

Now that she brought up the topic..

"How did it go with the witch?" Sasuke asked her. "Did she agree to let you see your mother and give you a little information about herself and the clan?"

"She actually did," Hinata said. She said it breathlessly as though she herself could not believe the woman had agreed.

"That's great. The sooner the better and we can get away from here," Sasuke said bitterly. "I've had enough of this place."

"Trust me, I've have enough as well," Hinata agreed.

Sasuke got up and went to the bathroom, heading for the sink to wash his hands and scrub his newly healed wrist and to get a cloth for Atsuko.

Returning, he found Hinata sitting next to the girl, smoothing her hair as a form of apology for her anger earlier.

Sasuke gave Hinata the wet cloth for her to wipe Atsuko's face clean of his blood. "Was she already S2?" she asked him.

Sasuke shook his head and Hinata sighed. "These people are going to have a fit when they find out."

"And they'll get a stroke when they learn who caused it," Sasuke said. "She's taken nasty Mixed blood."

"I think they'll more be jealous than angry," Hinata said with a snigger as though remembering something funny. She explained before he asked. "Naomi told me the vampires here are interested in us."

"After insulting us so much?"

"Hai. They find us fascinating because everyone here is Pure."

"Atsuko mentioned that a little before she tried to maul me," said Sasuke.

Sasuke looked through the nearby window and saw that it was a little before noon. "I'm going outside," he said. "You coming?"

Hinata got up from the bed, after pulling the covers over the child, smoothing her hair once more and dabbing her forehead. As she did, Sasuke watched with his heart warmed by the sight, imaging Atsuko was their daughter years from that exact moment.

"Our child will be a lot better looking though."

After Hinata was done, they both made their way outside.

The sun was hot, adding to their already now bronzed skin as they walked around the Inner Realm, talking about any and everything from what they thought the others at home were doing, how Naruto was handling his turning, if Itachi had found the person of his interest yet, if it was still very cold in Konoha, what Hinata was going to find out about the clan, if she would be able to perform mind control etc.

They walked all the way to the Outer Realm to an open field, sitting down on the soft grass. Hinata sat between Sasuke's legs, drawing her knees to her chest with him leaning on his arms as they watched the blades of grass hailing the breeze.

"We're going home in a couple days," said Hinata after a long while of peaceful silence.

"Thank Kami," Sasuke replied.

He could see Hinata smiling. "I'm actually going to miss it here."

Sasuke leaned forward to hug his mate and after some though, he replied, "I think I'm going to as well."

Hinata turned her head the look at him in shock. "Really?"

Sasuke nodded, "Hai. I'm not going to miss the demons here, but I'm going to miss the realm and the fact that we've had so much time to ourselves."

"Maybe we'll return someday?" Hinata suggested.

"Nope," Sasuke said quickly. "Only if we had to. We can just rent a cabin again if we need to get away."

Hinata leaned into Sasuke's embrace, humming lightly. "I'd like that."

Just then, there was a drizzle of rain and not really surprising them, it was pleasantly warm. Since they had come to the realm, it had not rained and Sasuke found it very refreshing.

They both looked up to the sky, blinking the water from their eyes as the rain blanketed them. Sasuke leaned into Hinata's neck, inhaling deeply as they sat there in the warm shower, swaying from side to side, drenched.

Now it was soon time to leave, Sasuke had realized he wasn't as happy to go as he'd assumed.

He'd miss this heavenly hell.

* * *

_** There you are everyone. I had wanted to get this to you yesterday but my internet was not working. I hope the format is okay since I'm still using the crappy MS I told you about. Also, I pray my writing style hasn't varied too much from what you were accustomed to- if it has- and that you enjoyed it. I'm sorry about leaving you with the previous cliff for so long. I'll try my hardest never to leave you guys in such a situation again. Life is hard for everyone I guess and I shouldn't have been selfish, reading and stuff when I could have been writing. I was just scared I'd write and it would turn out crappy (I hope this chapter wasn't). What I'll try doing is write a little everyday instead of writing a chapter in a few hours until I get my creative juices flowing freely where I don't have to squeeze my brain.**_

_**If you have not read Hina hime or A Happy Ending and you want to attempt reading Following the Sun please do.**_

_**Until next time…**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_


	46. The Burial Chamber

_**Hi there readers! It's me again with another update despite the fact I'm sicker than ever right now with the flu. I feel so terrible, it's not even funny. Add monthlies in the mix and that's me right now.**_  
_**I apologize for formatting issues. FF isn't taking italics, bold type, and so on from my MS. It doesn't carry over anything like qoutation marks either and when I copy and paste, it's still in a mess and I don't reread in FF (Maybe I should after this chapter).**_ **_I tried to alter some though._**  
_**Excuse any errors and R&R!**_

* * *

**Chapter 46: The Burial Chamber**  
**-**

Last evening had come and gone without event but it was clear today was not going to start that way.

Hinata and Sasuke had been just lying in bed when there was a loud knocking on the door.

Being used to Atsuko waltzing in as she pleased on mornings, Hinata was very surprised to hear the sound.

"Who is it?" she asked as she and Sasuke sat up, looking to the door.

"It's Mariko."

Hinata found it strange the woman didn't just materialize into her room. "You can come in," she said, glancing down at herself and Sasuke to make sure they were decent.

Mariko appeared at the foot of their bed.

"Good morning, Hinata-sama, Uchiha-san," said Mariko. "Naomi-same would like a word with you both as soon as possible. Do not keep her waiting."

She disappeared.

Hinata blinked a couple times before turning to Sasuke.

"What do you think the witch wants?" Sasuke asked before she could.

"I have no idea," Hinata replied.

Sasuke pulled back the covers and got out, heading to the bathroom; Hinata followed.

"I think it's about Atsuko," Sasuke said between brushing his teeth. "She was gone by the time we got back yesterday and she's not here this morning. Why else would Naomi want to see me as well?"

"Do you think she's angry?" Hinata asked him. She was slightly afraid her grandmother would not forgive Sasuke easily, seeing as he was not Pure and Hinata doubted the woman forgave anyway regardless of who the person was.

"I think she's pissed," said Sasuke. "The only reason she probably didn't come herself was to save her face." **_(saving face means to keep up your image/ status)_**

That was most likely true. Naomi seemed to only make a personal appearance for just that, personal reasons, such as the incident her father had told her about when Naomi had come to the house for her mother.

"It could be nothing as well," said Hinata hopefully. "Maybe she just wants us both to be there when she tells me what I want to know."

"You're just hoping that will be the case," Sasuke told her and then swore. "I hope Atsuko isn't sick or something. They'll blame me for it for sure."

Hinata unwillingly agreed.

"Pfft Whatever. If they send me home, better for me," her mate added as an afterthought.

* * *

They both had a bath and got ready as quickly as possible or rather; Hinata got ready quickly and urged unconcerned Sasuke to do the same.

It made no sense materializing since Sasuke couldn't and didn't feel like using his snakes. They could not go straight into the Throne Room either so they both took the long way, down flights of stairs there.

Hinata realized Sasuke was right and, indeed, a part of the reason they were there was because of his situation with Atsuko.

The small girl was there, wringing her hands as she stared at the floor standing next to who Hinata assumed was her mother.

It was very apparent the two were from the Outer Realm compared to everyone else in the room. Even though their clothes were immaculate, there was the air of inferiority radiating from them from being in the Throne Room; Naomi's presence.

The mentioned Hitomi leader was there in all her splendor as well as her advisers.

"So nice you could finally join us," said Mariko. "Taking your sweet time as though no one here as anything better to do but wait until you decide to appear."

A bejeweled hand was raised.

"Enough."

Silence reigned at the sound of Naomi's command.

The older woman looked through her wings of lashes and down her nose at Hinata and Sasuke. "I can assume you are smart enough to figure out the reason you were called here," she said.

Both Hinata and Sasuke gave a slight nod to confirm.

"In the event that you have guessed wrong, I shall inform you," Naomi continued. "It has been brought to my attention that Atsuko has evolved yesterday."

Evolved?

Was that what the Hitomi called awakening?

"She has not only evolved at an early age but by certain circumstances, that being of Uchiha Sasuke," Naomi continued, almost sneering Sasuke's name.

Hinata took a chance at looking around the room at the girl's mother, who appeared to be torn between being livid at Sasuke and depressed that her child was growing up; her grandmother and Mariko showed no emotion.

"Please explain yourself, Uchiha," Naomi finished.

Hinata was very surprised not to be hearing screaming and insults but she couldn't figure out from who exactly.

Sasuke cleared his throat irritably at being addressed as he was. "Atsuko made me," was his short reply.

Hinata witnessed every eye turn in his direction.

"Can you please explain to me the statement you made?" asked Naomi.

"I was trying to get Atsuko to go away since she had finished her chores after we had been talking, but she started carrying it overboard, asking about my blood's taste since 'it's so thin.' I said 'no' but she forced me via some kind of mind and body control. I tried to stop her but I was helpless to it and she made me take my wrist and then bit me. Hinata found us, stopped her and we left her in the room, finding her gone when we got back."

What a clean sweep. Hinata could tell by his monotonous tone Sasuke really didn't want to repeat himself and the intentions seemingly were taken up by Naomi.

The older woman sighed deeply as though asking for strength, her next words strained.

"The child drank of your blood?" she asked him. It seemed that was the only part Naomi was interested in.

Hinata glanced at Atsuko's mother once more to see she was barely holding back tears. Atsuko was actually crying silently, chewing on her lips softly in effort not to make any sound. Atsuko and her mother both had not spoken since Hinata and Sasuke had gotten there, making Hinata believe they were not allowed to speak.

"I just told you so," Sasuke said.

"Watch your tone!" Naomi snapped before she held her composure. "The child seems to be under no distress after having drank your blood. How she managed is beyond me. She will undergo solitary confinement for a month to flush the filth and as punishment for manipulating Uchiha Sasuke as he is a weaker, lesser being."

Hinata saw the explosion before it came. Sasuke's eyes widened comically had not for the situation and then crumpled into a harsh glower. "_Filth_? A weaker, lesser being? You stuck up, old bat-"

Hinata faked a very loud cough, stepping on Sasuke's foot. She knew he was tired of hearing himself being referred to as dirty but they needed to be on Naomi's good side.

The best thing about that moment is Atsuko had started to bawl even more as her mother sobbed harder, distracting her grandmother from hearing what Sasuke had said. The words had not been missed by Naomi's advisers, but they said nothing.

Hinata threw her mate a slight glare, Sasuke returning one of his own for saying he hadn't cared for if Naomi had heard him.

"Now that that has been dealt with, you may leave," Naomi said above the crying. Immediately, Atsuko and her mother disappeared. To Hinata, it seemed as though they were not aware of the happening which made her believe that the Hitomi were not only capable of teleporting themselves, but others as well.

No sooner had Hinata thought t, she and Sasuke were instantly shifted closer to the throne.

The feeling was strange, like passing through a curtain swiftly and the split second through it hampered the will of control of your body. Hinata now had a tiny inkling of what Sasuke had gone through with Atsuko.

"There's nothing further to address where you are concerned," Naomi said, directing her words to Sasuke. "You may go."

Hinata was grateful her grandmother had not given Sasuke the same treatment as the previous persons in the room and gave him the liberty of leaving on his own.

She looked across at her mate and he gave a slight frown before turning and leaving, but not without mouthing the words 'good luck' to her. She smiled at him, glad that he wished her the best.

* * *

When Sasuke left, Naomi directed her attention to her advisers. "Leave us be."

The command was followed immediately, leaving Hinata alone with her grandmother.

The woman beckoned Hinata to come closer, without the use of her abilities and Hinata complied, stopping short of the three steps to the Throne.

Again, Hinata felt the sensation of passing under a curtain for the briefest of moments and found herself in another room. A massive room, rivaling the Throne Room, decked with gold trim everywhere. Expensive décor surrounded Hinata as she stared.

"You are in my living quarters," Naomi told her. "Very few people have been in here so mark yourself lucky."  
Hinata gave a nod of understanding.

Naomi walked away and Hinata followed her through different rooms until they came to what Hinata could call the living room. Complete with couches that stretched forever. The older woman sat in one gracefully, posture intact and motioned Hinata to do the same.

"Why did you bring me here?" asked Hinata, as she sank into the couch. She tried to stabilized herself, wobbling and flailing her legs quite a bit at first before steadying herself via her hands on either side of her thighs. She hunched a bit, swinging her legs to give a thump thump every time her heels hit the couch. With one irritated glance from Naomi, it ceased.

"I would think the answer obvious," Naomi answered. "I brought you here for privacy; to give you the information you crave, that you are so obsessed with."

Hinata narrowed her eyes. "Why so soon?" she asked the Hitomi leader. "Yesterday you wanted nothing to do with me, wanted me to know nothing of this clan or my mother."

"Hai, but I have realized that if you leave this Realm without the knowledge you seek, you'll return. You keep pestering until you get what you want." Naomi sighed. "No matter how much I try to push you away, you'll always push back and it's a subtle yet distinct trait I recognized in myself, my daughter, and in you."

Hinata hung her head, feeling her cheeks warm for she was embarrassed for reasons she did not understand.

"What do you want to know?" Naomi asked her.

Hinata thought for awhile. She had several questions, not all of them related to her mother so she decided to start from where she thought was the beginning.

"Why do you hate humans so much?"

Naomi gave a bitter look. "They are disgusting, selfish creatures; murderers, the lot of them."

"I heard you call humans murderers before," said Hinata, remembering an earlier statement. "Why?"

Naomi's face took on a grave expression. "Because that's just what they are," she replied. "They kill everything the do not understand and destroy what they cannot conquer. Many vampires died at their doing; my mate being one of them."

There was silence as Hinata thought about what had just been said. "They killed my grandfather?" she asked softly. "Who did?"

"Vampire hunters; one woman specifically," Naomi told her.

The wheels in Hinata's head began to turn. "How can that be?" she asked. "No human is allowed here. None of the Hitomi leaves here."

"So right you are," Naomi said. "But there are always exceptions. Tadashi, your grandfather, left the Realm to _explore the world_, see what was beyond the Realm. We'd been mates so many years but one human was his downfall.

"Tadashi was not one to be held down, even by me. We loved each other but it's not like we were _in love_ as most arranged to be mates almost never have that undying love. We were quite fond of each other though; the best of friends."

Hinata listened attentively to her grandmother, glad the woman was finally opening up to her.

"Tadashi decided he was going to break the rules and pass the Red Gate to go outside. There, he fell in love. It was something he never felt for me and something I was never able to give him unconditionally.

"Unfortunately, the woman was a Hunter in disguise, seeking out rogue vampires and so on and she picked up on Tadashi. How she found out abuot his nature, I don't know.

"She played her cards right and despite _him_ usually being the one to seduce, he fell under her deathly spell and trap.

"Before they killed him, she cunningly led Tadashi to betray on his 'wife' and became pregnant for him, further ensnaring my foolish mate. It was when she gave birth that she lured him away to be burned at stake as well as the newborn child."

Naomi frowned, her slight wrinkles showing.

"The Hunters tried to find out our clan's whereabouts but he never told them so I assume part of him remained sensible. He deceived his mate with a dirty human because he wanted excitement. He got it, didn't he?"

Hinata was mortified at what she was hearing. No wonder the older woman had so many reason for hating humans. No wonder she never accepted her father for he was one of the reasons her mother had died.

"I… I had no idea," Hinata whispered. "I d-didn't know anyone could be so cruel."

"Every species in this world has its own evil," said Naomi. "We all find ways to prey on each other to stay ahead."

"But-"

"Do you not drink of others' blood?" Naomi cut in.

"Hai but-"

"Then you prey on others. From your scent, you didn't always drink of your mate, you drank human blood. He was human before as well."

Hinata remained quiet.

"The Hunters were taken care of," Naomi finally said, wanting to finish her story. "When word had gotten back of Tadashi's death, I made sure every one of them were killed. Every man, woman, and child were dealt the same hand as my best friend, my mate. The woman died at my hands; I broke her weak neck and limbs one by one and burned her."

Hinata felt a shudder run through her, raising goose bumps on her arms and the hair on her skin to stand up.

Naomi's face softened. "I did not mean to scare you, but you had to know the extent of my hatred of Humans and why I will never trust them. As much as they try to be decent, they are all treacherous, nasty, deceiving creatures. Your father killed my daughter, intended or not, despite his love for her. All of them are the same."

"And the Hunters?" Hinata asked. "Weren't they just trying to protect themselves?"

"Protect themselves?" Naomi gave a very cold laugh. "Humans destroy what they don't understand, fooling others to believe they are ridding the world of threats before they become dangerous. The Hunters were the worst, selling their souls to acquire the abilities vampires possess; they were the most wicked of all and I'm glad I was the one to send them to hell, where they belong."

"What about me?" Hinata asked timidly. "What about Sasuke?"

"I now consider you very rare," said Naomi. "You are my daughter's first child, whether conceived with a human or not. I will not accept the other child or your father, not in one million years as they were the ones to end Lyvi's life. I see more of Lyvi in you and you are more Pure than not.

"As for you mate, the fact that the Uchiha has that title is the only reason he is tolerated here."

Hinata looked up to see her grandmother staring at her for awhile before she spoke again. "You know, the thought of having you here haunted me for weeks and I couldn't wait for you to leave. But now that you're leaving soon, it made me realize you're the only reminder I have of my precious daughter. I still hate the human within you but as part of the Hitomi blood, acceptance is due."

Hinata's face lit up as she heard what Naomi had said. Did she really say she accepted her now? Hinata knew it must not have been an easy feat for the older woman but she was so happy that tears sprang to her eyes at finally being accepted by her family.

"Can I go see my mother?" Hinata asked, forgoing all other questions she had wanted to ask. She would ask another time in the future.

"I have a meeting to attend to so I cannot accompany you," Naomi told her. "I shall see you have an escort as your mate is not allowed to enter such a sacred place."

* * *

Hinata felt her being shift and found herself in the Throne Room once more, Naomi appearing just before her on her throne. In the blink of an eye, who Hinata could only describe as a tall, dark, beautiful man had appeared beside her. He didn't look that much older than she was and, from his demeanor, he was of the Inner Realm as well.

"Hinata, this is Ko," said Naomi. "He's a Supreme Royal and he'll escort you to the burial chambers of the Inner Realm."

Ko gave Hinata the slightest of bows, his hair swaying gently. Hinata guessed Supreme Royals were just short of leaders or something of the like.

"You may leave," Naomi said and Hinata found herself in the burial chambers.

Hinata walked around the vast tomb-like structure behind, the ceiling far above her head. Ko led Hinata past the rows of what Hinata saw were chained coffins. Everything was gold and all types of flowers were everywhere.

Never had she expected this, thinking almost all aspects of humans' perspectives on vampires were myth.

A thought ran through Hinata's head. "I'd like to see my grandfather first please," she said to Ko, who nodded and turned at the next five rows to the right before continuing in a similar fashion.

Hinata thought they would be walking forever but, finally, they came to some of the first rows. She realized these coffins were more highly wrought, the gold gleaming, and believed these were the past leaders and Supreme Royals of the clan.

Ko stopped in front of one of the biggest ones and pointed to the engraved gold plaque there.

"Here rests Hitomi Tadashi," Hinata read. Further description let her know he would have been seventy-years-old or one thousand and twenty-nine, more accurately, this year. She briefly wondered why her grandparents had her mother at such an old age but was too saddened to delve further.

She gently touched the gleaming metal plaque and closed her eyes, praying for her grandfather to continue resting in peace despite his restless nature.

A moment passed and Hinata turned to Ko. "Please take me to my mother," she said.

The man walked a few steps to the coffin right next to Tadashi's wordlessly.

Hinata walked slowly to the coffin, her chest feeling constricted. As soon as Hinata's eyes caught the words '**Hitomi Lyvi**' she fell to her knees, crushing some of the fresh flowers. Hinata hugged the cold, hard gold as tears swarmed her eyes, the grating of the gold chains on the coffins falling on deaf ears.

Hinata's mother was in this coffin, beyond her reach and her touch and Hinata felt like a small child again as she clung as though for dear life, trying with all her might to find warmth; to find what she had associated with her mother.

"Okaa-san," Hinata cried.

She never thought she would break down at seeing her mother but there was so much she wanted to say that she could only hope would be heard somehow.

Hinata felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see the compassionate expression on her escort's face. Hinata didn't know him or had even heard him speak, but she felt glad he cared. Ko's hand was Hinata's only comfort as she mourned her mother's death.

Leaning over, Hinata smelled the flowers there and instantly felt a little better as what she imagined was her mother's scent wafted to her nose.

Her knees ached from holding her weight against the hard, stone floors but Hinata barely felt it as she closed her eyes, more tears escaping.

By the time Hinata had settled down, her eyes felt raw from crying, her knees were scraped and she had a brutal headache.

Ko had not moved once, staying by her side with his hand on her shoulder or rubbing her back to sooth the final hiccups of her episode.

"Arigatou," Hinata said hoarsely. "I didn't mean to waste your time."

Now that she had settled down, Hinata felt incredibly self-conscious after she had cried her heart out in front a complete stranger.

Ko gave her a simple nod.

Hinata's eyes narrowed as she looked up at Ko from her position on the floor. "Don't you speak?" she asked him.

Ko nodded once more.

"But you can't speak to me?" Hinata questioned.

The same response was administered.

"I would like if you could speak to me-with me," Hinata said.

"As you wish, Hinata-sama," said Ko. "But it is not my place."

"Why not?" Hinata asked him. "You're of the Inner Realm; a Supreme Royal."

"I see Naomi-sama did not tell you," said Ko.

Hinata waited for him to continue.

"A pair to be mated has certain standards to uphold. You, being of higher caliber, means I am not allowed to speak to you whether it be formally or informally. I am only to be your escort until we are mated- well we _were to be._"

Hinata backtracked.

"Pardon me?" Hinata asked as politely as possible. It seemed today was going from one extreme to another.

"I'm not allowed to speak to you because your status is higher than mine, being the leader's granddaughter. If the roles were reversed, you would not be allowed to speak to me unless permitted as you did me.

"Those rules won't be upheld so strongly, of course," Ko told Hinata. "Also to address us being affianced, it's not binding because you have a mate but I was originally conceived with the intention of being a mate to the late Lyvi-sama's child. If you were male, a female was conceived as well."

"So you are telling me you were not supposed to communicate until we we officially mated and mates in general are arranged before birth?" Hinata asked.

Ko nodded.

Sasuke was right; the Hitomi were just... "Weird."

"Please do not feel I threaten you or the relationship with your mate. Naomi simply called me because I would have been the person closer to you in a matter like this had situations been different," Ko said.

Hinata reeled in the information carefully. She was grateful he honestly seemed to have no interest in her other than the usual curiosity she felt from everyone else. She had found this out through further conversation with him.

* * *

When Hinata decided to leave, she could say she had met another friend and was glad.

"It was nice meeting you, Ko," Hinata said. They were outside her door. Hinata's eyes were no longer dry and raw and her headache was gone.

Ko nodded and took her hand in his. "Thank you very much, Hinata-sama. It was a pleasure meeting you as well. See you soon."

Hinata smiled and then Ko was gone.

Appearing in her room, Hinata saw Sasuke staring with a raised eyebrow.

"Who was that?" he asked her.

"That was Ko," Hinata said. "Naomi had a meeting and couldn't take me to see my mother so she sent him with me. He's also who I was supposed to be mated to if my mother hadn't died."

Hinata saw Sasuke's eyes briefly turn red.

"Don't worry," Hinata said quickly. "That's over with, you're my mate, remember?"

"You still never know what these people are thinking," Sasuke told her, giving a small frown.

"Let's not talk about that now, Naomi finally opened up and talked to me," Hinata said.

Sasuke calmed down to hear the account of what had happened since he left the Throne Room and to say he was surprised was an understatement.

"I always heard stories about Vampire Hunters but I never knew they existed," said Sasuke.

They were now sitting by the window in the seat talking about Hinata's day so far. He leaned over to tuck Hinata's hair behind her ear.

"I'm glad everything worked out for you, Hina," he said. "When we leave now, it'll be with no hard feelings."

Hinata smiled as she leaned into his touch, keeping his hand to her cheek with her own.

"Hai."

* * *

_**Well I thought this was a good place to end the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it and learned something new as I try to add new info with every chapter. I would really like to finish my fics by the end of the year so I can focus on my studies whole-heartedly so I'll be trying very hard to get updates out like I used to which seems impossible *sigh*. When I started to write this chapter, I was a lot sicker than I am now so; hopefully, the mood picked up.**_

_**If you have not read **_**Hina hime**_**, **_**A Happy Ending**_**, or **_**Following the Sun**_** please try them.**_

_**Until the next update…**_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**Please review, I love it when you do!**_


	47. Sayonara

**__**

Hi there readers! It seems I'm really starting to get back into my habit of updating on a weekly basis; I'm so proud of myself. Not much to say this week, except I'm not feeling sick or anything at the moment so it's all good.

Wow, it's amazing I could have ended this fic with this chapter but I don't want it to end yet so I erased what I'd written and I've made it longer. Was that the right thing to do?

As usual, FF is screwing with my formatting and giving me a headache.

Excuse any errors and R&R!

* * *

Chapter 47: Sayonara

The day before the last day in the realm of the Hitomi was here.

Hinata didn't know if to laugh or cry at the thought of leaving. It had been quite the experience for her and very stressful but she was still glad she'd come.

In the last days of being in the realm, Hinata learned much more with the help of her grandmother. She learned about her abilities and the clan's secrets and was given a vow never to reveal any of it, only to her mate and Sasuke had in turn been given a vow to take of silence of anything sacred to the Hitomi.

She learned a lot about her mother as well. Lyvi was similar to Hinata but personalities differed from their upbringing. The girl was pleased to know her mother was at least not as snobbish as the others in the clan tended to be; just a little arrogant.

It was also a fact that leaders would have their children later than usual, to prolong the ruling of the clan and keep the line of leaders under the first ancestor. The longer the wait to have an offspring, the better it was apparently.

Another thing was, to Hinata's surprise, Naomi's other adviser was actually Satoshi, her mother's affianced mate. He'd not spoken in her presence because Lyvi was of higher status, therefore; so was Hinata. The rule had been passed down as Lyvi died.

It had been nice to speak to the man after learning that fact though. Satoshi told her stories about her mother that Naomi never could. Tales from climbing trees to sneaking out of bed at night to run in the rain made Hinata beam from within.

* * *

At the moment, Hinata was getting dressed.

A small social gathering had been organized for Hinata and Sasuke's departure and of the first full moon. Hinata could honestly say she felt a lot better now. There was actually going to be a farewell party held for them.

Hinata looked at herself in the illuminated mirror as a servant helped her put up her hair while another did her makeup and painted her nails.

This was all after a very soothing bath that, while it burned a little, left her skin tingling in delight from the thorough scrub she was given. She felt very pampered indeed.

She thought she looked barely recognizable. Her hair was now in the last stages of being pinned up with golden pins, flowers, and combs; the last addition a bejeweled tiara.

The makeup was very light but still enhanced every feature Hinata possessed. Her complexion was more even, cheeks lightly flushed, and lips a sheer, pale pink. Her lashes never looked longer and other little touches brought it all together; it was amazing.

Hinata was then helped into her magnificent, silky robes of cerise and gold over her dark scarlet, lacey underwear and gold jewelry and shoes. She really did not want to think about how much money she was wearing but when she assessed herself after dressing, Hinata couldn't be more radiant.

Hinata was a bit nervous to see the look on Sasuke's face upon seeing her. He'd been gone for awhile so that he could be dressed as well for the affair. She knew he must look stunning, as handsome as he was, and found she couldn't wait to see him.

She was then told she was to meet Naomi so they could enter the Main Hall where everything was to be held. Looking to the curtained windows, Hinata wondered why it still looked so bright out.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He'd been silently wondering about it and never got the chance to seek the answer but now he guess he had it.

The moon was so close it looked as though one would think to reach in the belief of touching it.

For all the time he and Hinata were in the realm, they had not seen the moon, not even once and Sasuke was beginning to think the realm didn't have one, seeing the fact the nights were never fully dark anyway.

But as he stood in the Main Hall where the gathering was, Sasuke looked through the now opened curtains to see the full moon and sky.

It looked like sunset, the sky painted with hues of amber, violet, and vermilion; a contrast to the silver and gray moon as fire was to ice.

It reminded him of Hinata and himself somehow.

And on the thought of Hinata, Sasuke looked up towards the stairs where Hinata would be coming from their room and sighed.

She was taking forever to get dressed. How long could it take to put on a robe, some makeup and shoes?

He noticed Hitomi was nowhere in sight either and figured they both had taking long to get ready for these things in common.

'_Women_.'

Sasuke was standing by the table near the back where the 'refreshments' were. It was blood, of course, flowing and tricking from fountains richly. He had been quite tempted to have a glass but then, not knowing whose blood it was, turned his appetite off.

Deciding to move away from the table before anyone got the wrong idea of him being greedy about drinking their precious Pure Blood, Sasuke made his way further to the entire wall of glass that let in the light of the moon to look outside. He smiled at the image of the bunny he saw that further reminded him of his mate.

Suddenly there was a light but firm chime and the entire room went silent.

"Naomi-sama and Hinata-sama have arrived."

Sasuke didn't know who had said it and he didn't care either because when he turned around, he was completely taken aback.

He'd never been able to see it before since he had always thought Hinata to just be his 'cute girl' or 'sexy mate' but at that moment, with Hinata walking beside her grandmother, she looked so beautiful; a striking woman to be noticed.

Sasuke never felt more blessed to have Hinata as his mate than that first night it had been made official. A true princess was walking down those stairs, staring amazed at the moon and then coyly gazing directly at him.

He'd seen Hinata dressed up before but never like this and if Sasuke didn't know her, he would swear her a mystical goddess sent just for him.

The descent down the stairs was pleasurably slow for Sasuke as he watched every graceful step his mate made. He knew the thought that ran through his head was inappropriate for that point in time, but he could not wait until he could have her all to himself.

When Hinata and Naomi reached the bottom of the stairs, everyone either curtsied or bowed at their presence, including Sasuke and then the mingling continued.

Hinata's blushing form came Sasuke's way and she smiled shyly.

"Hi, Sasuke."

Sasuke smirked. "Hey."

He reached for Hinata's gloved hand and she accepted. He caressed his bracelet around her wrist.

Sasuke looked around to see almost all eyes were on Hinata, especially the males. Some females eyed her, lit with seeing such a pretty girl, others with envy.

"You know," Sasuke said conversationally. "I might have to take you away from all these people."

"Why?" Hinata asked him softly, as they walked leisurely among the others in the room.

"Because everyone usually wants the most attractive girl at the party and that happens to be you," Sasuke told her.

Hinata blushed prettily. "So the girls will want you too then?" she asked, motioning to the ones who stared at him. "I'll have to hide you too."

Sasuke looked down at his attire. His robes were cerulean with intricate gold trim and detail that hung off his shoulders then at Hinata's robes. His gaze lingered on her cross and it glinted at him from her cleavage, barely shown above the plunge of the robes.

They both looked outside the window at the Realm, beautifully seeming to glow in the light of the moon and smiled.

He could tell despite everything that had happened before in the Hitomi Realm, tonight was one that was definitely going to be remembered.

* * *

Hinata could not decided what the best part of it was.

The best part was probably the impossibly close full moon that illuminated the realm so beautifully. She'd been told after inquiring that the moon appeared once a month and that was the full moon. Part of the reason for the party was it was the first moon of the year as well.

It could have been the wonderful gathering itself; everyone dressed so beautifully and so proper and seeing both Sasuke and herself as equal to them.

Maybe it was the 'after party.'

All of that had been yesterday, and as Hinata lay in bed, she smiled.

Looking over to Sasuke after Hinata sat up, she smiled even wider, remembering his need to have a final 'coupling' for the last night in the realm. He said he'd been waiting the entire night after first seeing her dressed up and even whisked them away before the party had ended.

Neck itching and teeth and claws bared, Hinata thoroughly enjoyed it.

She traced one of the tags of Sasuke's chain at the back of his neck. His tags had the habit of swinging to the back while he slept.

"I'm not sleeping, you know," Sasuke said softly.

"Of course I know that," Hinata told him. She leaned over to hug him around his middle. "How did you sleep?"

"Very peacefully, even though we only went to sleep about two hours ago," Sasuke replied with a hum. He rolled over, to drape his limbs over hers.

"Hai," said Hinata then went silent awhile.

"We're going home today," Hinata said with a sigh.

"Aren't you happy to be going back to Konoha?" Sasuke asked his mate with a raised eyebrow.

They'd spoken about this many times before but now that the moment was here, Hinata was not sure what she felt.

"Hai," she said, decided. "Demo… I'll be leaving my clan. I know they were awful to us but that changed."

"Naomi said you can visit again if you want," Sasuke said. He kissed her forehead. "You're leaving your clan but you're also going back to the rest of your family; with me."

Hinata nodded. She knew Sasuke was trying to make her feel better about it but she didn't know if she was okay with it. She did know that she had to accept she had Humans and Vampires as family, both dear to her yet so far apart.

Hinata had been living with the Human side of her family all her life but had only a month with the Hitomi. Hinata knew she could never stay in the realm though. It was a part of her but a minor part that she didn't want to abandon.

"I'll try to come back someday," Hinata said more to herself than to Sasuke.

Sasuke gave her a smile and let her go as he sat up. "Good, let's go get ready so we can leave as soon as possible."

o

Hinata laughed as she got out of bed and then they both started getting ready.

They had been lying in bed all day long, not bothering to go anywhere. They had gone everywhere there was to go that was not forbidden to them and after the past couple of days, just wanted a little time alone since when they got back to Konoha, they would have their friends, family, and school to deal with.

Hinata cringed at the thought of having all that school work to catch up to; a whole month's worth and the feeling was definitely shared with Sasuke.

Not having to pack, since neither of them had been allowed to bring anything to the realm, Hinata and Sasuke hopped into the bath, Sasuke rejoicing at the fact he would no longer have to scald himself after this day.

Afterwards, they dressed in robes and made their way down to the Throne Room where they were to report to before leaving.

Naomi was there, not looking the least bit tired even after the night before.

"I noticed you both left before the end of the festivities," said Naomi. "Not very polite at all."

Hinata was very surprised Mariko had not commented, but she'd been put in her place a few days ago about her outbursts towards her.

"Gomen," said Hinata. "We… had a little situation to attend to?"

Hinata felt her cheeks flare up at her lame response but Naomi eased her.

"I had to thank everyone for attending on your behalf but as hormones rage I cannot hold you completely responsible," said Naomi, making not only Hinata, but Sasuke blush.

"It is now the hour in which you shall both take your leave," Naomi. "You can go to the gate and claim your belongings, with the exception of the clothing that had to be burnt, and leave the Hitomi Realm."

"Hai," both Hinata and Sasuke said.

Naomi stood and gracefully walked towards them, as though gliding on the air. Hinata smiled to see the woman approached them this way instead of materializing.

The older woman looked at Sasuke.

"Uchiha," she addressed. "You are not considered the ideal mate for my grandchild. Your blood is thin-"

Hinata could see Sasuke stiffening and could feel him ready to retort.

"-and, while being of a higher class of Mixed Bloods, you are still deemed as being common and filthy."

Sasuke went to say something but Naomi spoke before he could.

"_Demo_ I believe you are a very strong individual who can love and protect Hinata and I see she has a worthy mate in you."

To say Sasuke was speechless was the understatement of the century.

Naomi then turned to her granddaughter.

"I don't do this often, but I apologize for the way I have treated these past few weeks until days ago," she said. "I couldn't see past the Human in you but I do now. Even if you didn't have ninety-eight percent Pure Blood in your veins, I'd still accept you.

"Not because of you being Lyvi's first born, but because you proved me wrong. The human in you and your mate is not a murderer. Filthy with thin blood; but not the monsters I knew them to be."

Naomi took Hinata's hand in both of hers, Hinata gasping from the power she felt.

"You are welcomed back to the Hitomi anytime you wish for as long as you please. It has not been made legitimate, but you are now heir to the throne behind me."

Hinata's eyes widened to the size of saucers at the announcement and filled with tears instantly.

"I wish you a safe trip to your home, both of you."

"Arigatou, Naomi-sama," said Sasuke, just as shocked as Hinata was.

Hinata ignored the feeling of unending power and slight tingeing sensation to her skin and rushed to hug her grandmother, her tears soaking the woman's shoulder; Naomi returned it.

"Sayonara, Obaa-sama," Hinata said tearfully.

They both parted.

"It's not goodbye forever, child," said Naomi. "There's no need to cry as though I'm on my deathbed. That's not happening anytime soon."

Hinata and Sasuke smiled to see the arrogance still shined through.

They all nodded respectfully and turned away going in opposite directions; Naomi to resume her reign on her throne, Hinata and Sasuke to the gates to return to Konoha.

Hinata cried all the way to the gate, Sasuke's arms around her shoulders.

* * *

**__**

I hope you liked the chapter because I certainly did. As said before, I could have ended this fic with this chapter but, it pained me to say the end and so I'll continue. I hope it's appreciated. Also, the colors can be found via the link on my homepage :)

If you have not read Hina hime, A Happy Ending, or Following the Sun please do.

Until next update…

Ja ne!

Please review, I love it when you do!


	48. Back To Earth

_**Hey there all, yes, I'm a couple days late but I've been getting no sleep and feeling overly stressed, I dunno. Nothing else to say I think so let's get to it.**_  
_**Formatting issues may occur.**_  
_**Excuse any errors and R&R!**_

* * *

**Chapter 48: Back To Earth**

Sasuke thought he would cry on his way to the Red Gate.

He was _finally_ leaving this place and just couldn't walk fast enough, almost breaking into a sprint.

"Sasuke you don't have to walk so fast!" said Hinata breathlessly, who was a couple steps behind him as she tried to keep up.

"Hai, I do," replied Sasuke.

When they got to the gate, there were the guards there from before, Haru and… the other one, ready to escort them through.

"We hope you enjoyed your stay, Hinata-sama, Uchiha-san," the guard said. "I'm sure you remember us, I'm Haru and he's Daiki."

"We did," said Hinata politely. "And arigatou, I had a wonderful time."

Both guards bowed and then proceeded to lead them outside; the huge Red Gate was shut behind them.

"Here, you shall collect your belongings," Daiki told them. Instantly, Sasuke's Mustang appeared and the boy thought he saw heaven.

Ah, his chariot to freedom; sparkling and brand new as it had been.

Sasuke and Hinata both inclined their heads in acknowledgment of the men.

"You will have to change out of your garments," Haru said, and at that moment the woman from the very first time they were there-Sasuke couldn't remember her name, it began with a K- appeared to take Hinata to get dressed.

In the blink of an eye, Sasuke found himself in the room he'd been in before with Daiki to 'cleanse' before entering the Realm.

"I assume you know the routine," Daiki said, walking to the door and keeping it open for Sasuke.

Sasuke wordlessly went in and sighed when the door was closed behind him. He honestly thought he wouldn't have to deal with this again.

There was no up side to feeling as though his skin would be melted off but at least he knew for sure it was the last time in awhile he'd have to go through it until Hinata visited again.

He hoped she wouldn't until the next century or so.

Sasuke could remember when he had first bathed here, the water that washed off him was quite similar to mud. He was glad to see that was not the case this time.

The water was still very murky but not sludge; the soap still felt like hot metal to his skin as it washed away fairly pink water instead of what he thought was blood before.

When he was done, as red as a lobster, Sasuke got out and put on the clothes provided for him after drying off.

The robes were plain with gold thread and so were the slacks. He slipped his feet in the sandals and went out of the small bathroom.

Daiki then took him back to the Red Gate and they all waited until Hinata and her helper returned.

Haru gave Sasuke his keys and cell phone.

"I thought you had this destroyed," said Sasuke, referring to his phone.

"Iie, It was stored with the car and the other belongings in it," said Haru.

Hinata appeared just then, wearing a simple set of green robes. "Ready?" she asked him.

"From the time I first set foot here," Sasuke said snidely.

Hinata ignored the comment but smiled at him and walked to the car, opening the door on the left side. "Let's go then," she said.

Sasuke turned to the guards. "Arigatou," he told them, the woman was gone.

Daiki and Haru both bowed as Sasuke went to get in the car.

Sasuke inhaled the new-car scent.

* * *

It was just as Hinata had remembered.

The road looked horrible, with huge rocks and potholes but the ride was as smooth as ever as they drove away from the Hitomi Realm.

Hinata watched as the landscape changed, seeing as they were leaving Mizugakure. The road was still slippery but the thick sheets of snow were gone as Spring was creeping up early it seemed.

The drive was terribly long and Hinata and Sasuke had to take turns driving, stopping to sleep, feed, bathe and refill the gas tank as before.

Outside was becoming hotter as they came closer to Konoha and they rolled down their windows to let in the air, opting not to use the air conditioning.

"Do you want to drive now?" Sasuke asked Hinata.

At the confirmation, Sasuke indicated and pulled over to the side, getting out so Hinata could crawl behind the wheel and in no time they were off again.

Hinata glanced across at Sasuke.

"I can't get over how happy and glowing you are," Hinata said to her mate. "It's like Christmas has come again."

Sasuke smirked. "Nothing compares to last Christmas," said Sasuke and he said nothing more.

They were now getting closer, going to Sasuke's house. Hinata could feel the excitement as she turned the corner, driving slowly down his street.

It was surprising Naruto was not outside, but then again, it was just after sunset. She wasn't exactly sure what day it was.

She wouldn't know for sure though; the Hitomi Realm was a disorienting place.

Hinata pulled up in front of the house and both she and Sasuke got out and walked up to the door.

Sasuke rang the doorbell.

"Everyone's actually home," whispered Sasuke.

Hinata watched as a shadow came closer, the footfalls louder and then the door opened to reveal Sai.

Sai just stood there staring at the two of them blankly then blinked as though he could not believe his eyes. "We've been waiting for you two to come home for weeks now," was his greeting.

"What's with you?" asked Sasuke. "You're acting as though we've been gone forever. It's just been a month."

Sai raised an eyebrow. "A month? What are you talking about? You've been gone for _two_ months now. It's March."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Two months?" she asked and thought back. "Demo… it's only been a month."

"Iie," argued Sai.

"Stop playing around," said Sasuke. He shook his head and took Hinata's hand as Sai stepped aside for them to pass; Sai followed but then went upstairs, retuning soon after via his rats.

Before they could get any farther in the house, Naruto came from the kitchen, Kin and Karin behind him.

"Who was it at the door, Sai?" Karin asked then surprise overtook her face when she saw Hinata and Sasuke standing there. "Sasuke? Hinata? You're here!"

Naruto, Kin and Karin ran straight up to them both, stopping short of running them over. "I knew I smelled you! Welcome back to Earth!" said Naruto.

The three hugged Hinata and then Sasuke but Naruto shook the latter's shoulders sharply at his turn. "Where the hell were you all this time?"

Hinata looked at Sasuke, wondering what was going on. "Didn't you know we were at the Hitomi Realm?" she asked him before Sasuke could.

"For two months?" Naruto exclaimed, nearly snapping Sasuke's neck in the process of shaking him so hard, before the brunet shrugged him off. "Itachi was about to come looking for you if you didn't come home by weekend. _What are you wearing?_"

"What is with all the noise down here."

Hinata and the others stopped talking and looked up to see Itachi standing at the top of the stairs but with a flutter of wings, he was in front of them. He gave Hinata a quick hug and Sasuke a tighter hold. Hinata found it cute to feel emotion coming from the older man at seeing his younger brother.

"Where have you two been?" Itachi demanded, mostly from Sasuke.

Hinata was really starting to take Naruto's greeting to heart, wondering if they had been off the planet or something.

"What's with all of you?" asked Sasuke. Hinata could tell he was starting to get very annoyed. "We've been gone for _one _month."

"Otouto, you've been gone for two months," Itachi corrected.

Hinata looked at the others to see them nodding in agreement but she was confused.

"Do you think the Hitomi drove them mad and senseless?" Naruto whispered to his mate. Everyone heard.

Everyone was quiet until Itachi spoke again. "It seems there was a time lapse of some sort then," he said. "That's the only way to explain why you both think it's still February."

Hinata rubbed her eyes and yawned as sleep crept up on her unexpectedly.

"Oh gosh, you must be tired after the trip," said Kin. She looked to her mate but Sai answered.

"I called Neji already. He'd wanted to be called as soon Hinata turned up," said Sai. "He should be here soon. I know you'd probably want to see your cousin and sister tonight."

"Thanks so much, Sai," Hinata said graciously.

"Aww but I have questions and stuff I wanted to ask her too," whined Naruto.

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Look, I don't know what's going on but I can't deal with it right now; I'm tired and so is Hinata," he said. "We're going upstairs until Neji gets here. I'll tell you about everything tomorrow."

* * *

Sasuke took Hinata's hand once more and led her up the stairs.

"That was really weird," Hinata commented when they were in Sasuke's room; it was spotless as he'd left it.

Sasuke grunted a reply. "I know. It's still kinda strange to me how it happened."

"Well the days _did _feel a lot longer than they do here," said Hinata. "And when I was learning new stuff, they said I'd learn twice as fast even though I didn't understand what it meant then."

Sasuke turned to her. "You hadn't told me that," he said.

"It wasn't important then," Hinata replied. "But it makes sense now."

When Sasuke thought about it, it really felt like a possibility. From the very first time he and Hinata had been in the Realm, they were disoriented about the time.

Sasuke went to lie next to Hinata. "Naruto's not going to let you sleep," his mate said.

"I know," said Sasuke. "He's already changed and I know he'll be dying to tell me about it. That, and he wants to know about the Hitomi Clan. Knowing Naruto, he'll wait until you're gone to do it."

"I hope Hanabi and Neji won't be so eager because I feel dead tired," Hinata said. "But Neji must have been worried sick."

There was a ring of the doorbell.

"Speak of the devil, that must be him now," Sasuke told Hinata.

Hinata and Sasuke got up and went downstairs to see Neji was inside already, talking to Naruto who had let him in.

Sasuke knew Naruto couldn't wait for Hinata to leave because the blond never answered the door as most of the time he would be holed up in his or Karin's bedroom.

"Nice to have you guys back," said Neji to the both of them. From his tone, Sasuke could tell he'd been concerned about his cousin but must have been filled in by Sai with the phone call from earlier since no questions were asked.

"Arigatou," said Sasuke and Hinata.

Hinata looked at him.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Hai," said Sasuke. He could tell Hinata would be sleeping the moment she's be on her way home. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Talk to you later."

Hinata said her goodbyes to the rest of the occupants of the house and Sasuke walked her to the car, shutting her door for her. He watched as Neji drove away.

"You know you _have _to tell me everything _tonight_, right?"

Sasuke turned around to see Naruto's bright, blue eyes staring at him expectantly.

"Sure," said Sasuke dully. "What's missing a few hours of sleep?"

* * *

**_And that is the end of this chapter. I had been planning on getting it to you earlier and from the top A/N it was Tuesday I'd started to write this but I dunni, craziness like different job days and shifts stepped in. I hope you enjoyed it; more to come soon._**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_, or _Following the Sun_, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	49. Home Sweet Home

**_Hi there readers, I'm so sorry I've not updated in so long, but work has had me terribly tired and it's still a bit of an issue. On top of that, I've been either sick with migraines, monthlies, or the cold. Then I sold my laptop and had not backed it up which meant I lost EVERYTHING I had on it and had to catch up—which I still haven't fully done yet on this new laptop. I hope all of you have been well and that I have not kept you waiting for too long. I deeply apologize for, once again, not sticking to my once-a-week updates but I really could do no better. Oh yeah, and FINALLY! I've gotten back my MS 2007‼ I hope that this means formatting issues will no longer stress me out more than I'm already stressed. (Unfortunately, the formatting issues are the same so if you see a problem, alert me please)_**

**__****_Excuse any errors and R&R‼!_**

* * *

**************Chapter 49: Home Sweet Home**

**************o**

On the ride home, Hinata waited patiently for Neji to start asking questions trying not to fall asleep in the process.

As she expected, he started not too long after being half-way to their house.

"Sai filled me in a bit when he called me to collect you," said Neji. "He said you and Sasuke were of the belief you've been gone only for a month."

"Hai," Hinata affirmed. "Apparently, the Hitomi Realm has some kind of time lapse; the days are longer and so we were going through two days, thinking it was one."

Neji nodded. "You had us all so worried," Neji said softly and Hinata could really hear the turmoil in his voice. "Itachi didn't want me to go look for you with him if you didn't return by weekend, saying it could be dangerous and that made me even more anxious to know what was going on with you."

"Gomen, Neji," said Hinata. "Me and Sasuke had no idea we were gone for so long."

"Hai."

They were both quiet for awhile until Hinata decided to speak again, even though she was tired. It was like jet lag, she figured. Feeling so tired her body was humming but she couldn't sleep just yet.

"How has everything at home been?" Hinata asked her cousin.

Neji made a strained expression. "It's… I dunno. It's fine, I guess; quiet but Hanabi is still acting strangely; even worse now."

"But I thought she was back to normal before I left," said Hinata uneasily.

"That was before you left," Neji told Hinata. "After you were gone, she was fine for a couple days and then went back to being as she was. Even worse, she got into going to parties and stuff with that Konohamaru and his friends.

"She's coming home late, lying, her grades slipped, and I was about to call Hiashi-san since she's been sick this week."

Hinata could not speak for a moment, her fatigue gone as she went over what Neji had told her.

"Hinata," Neji started. "I don't know what is going on with Hanabi but… I think she's on drugs." He paused, but spoke before Hinata could. "I'm no expert on these things but all of this is pointing in that one direction."

Hinata tried to get over the shock of what Neji had said. There was no way her little Imouto could be on drugs but—

"—no one could fall so hard as quickly as Hanabi and not be in some kind of dangerous situation." Neji had finished her thoughts.

"It sounds like Konohamaru is the problem here then," said Hinata. "Since she started seeing him, her attitude and everything has gone downhill."

"I wanted to wait until you got back to do anything about it," said Neji. "Hanabi's a completely different person and whenever I try to talk to her she screams I'm not her father or you, slams her bedroom door in my face and locks it."

Hinata gasped. "She did that?" Certainly, something had to be done.

"Hai," said Neji. "It's either the bedroom door or the front door with me barely able to see what little clothing she's been wearing and awful makeup painted on."

A ringing headache soared through Hinata's temples just then and she swayed where she sat.

"Are you alright?' asked Neji, glancing at her. "I shouldn't have upset you like that. I shouldn't have brought this up."

"Iie," said Hinata weakly. "I'm glad you did. I just can't deal with so much tonight."

"You won't have to," said Neji. "Hanabi won't be home until after one most likely and you'll be sleeping."

o

Hinata sighed as she heaved herself out of the car.

She still was not sure what time it was but she guessed it was around seven or so, maybe later. Neji helped Hinata get her things out of the car and then they made their way into the house.

Hinata took a deep breath as she entered, the familiar scent of her home filling her senses. Up the stairs she trudged to her room, Neji following. Her room was nice and clean, the bed made and Hinata took the couple steps to it, flopping into the covers.

"_Ahh my bed_!" Hinata shouted with some of the last bit of energy she had. She sagged right in, dreaded having to get up again to have a bath.

Neji put Hinata's things next to the bed and sat at the foot.

Hinata then got up and stumbled to the bathroom, her body humming once again. She got her soap and stuff and filled the tub, bubbles foaming over the rim. She slipped in and got to a soak, relaxing in the water when Neji came in.

"Need help?" he asked, reaching for a washcloth.

Hinata smiled. "Arigatou."

Hinata told Neji of what had happened in the Hitomi Realm while he washed Hinata's back, arms an so on, including what she and Sasuke went through when they took a bath, reliving the very first time to him, when it had felt as though she had been scalded and the water that had washed off was like mud.

Neji was very surprised to hear of it and even took to insisting washing Hinata more carefully, not wanting to make her skin sore.

Afterwards, Neji left to let Hinata get out of the tub, dry off, brush her teeth, and put on something to sleep in. When she came out of the bathroom, Neji was already under the covers with her side pulled back for her to get in as he'd already had a bath.

Hinata crawled in beside her cousin and snuggled closer, liking the warmth. Neji in turn pulled her closer.

"I'm going to miss it in the Hitomi Realm," Hinata said to Neji. "But nothing feels like home."

Neji smiled and kissed Hinata on the nose. "Nothing should ever feel like home or it never was in the beginning," he told her. "I'm so glad you're back."

Hinata nodded as she felt slept tugging at her consciousness and she willingly fell into it.

* * *

"_Really_?"

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose in agony at Naruto's loud voice.

It had to be so late and Naruto just would not let Sasuke get some rest, making the brunet feel like screaming—if he had the energy.

"Hai," Sasuke answered wearily.

"What a hag!" Naruto exclaimed. "Well, not anymore," he added quickly. "But how could she just treat you like that? I hate those stinkin' Purebloods! Who do they think they are?"

"Can you speak a little softer," Sasuke demanded. "I'm going to kick your ass out if you raise your voice _one_ more time."

Naruto laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "Gomen. It's just that this is so exciting."

"Yippee," Sasuke drawled. He glanced at his best friend who was lying on his stomach, arms propped up and feet in the air like some school girl at a sleepover.

Sasuke tried to change the subject off him, hoping to bore Naruto so he could leave or be quiet and let him finally sleep after all this time. "What about you?" he asked Naruto. "You haven't told me about what's been happening since I left."

Sasuke watched in dread as Naruto's face lit up anew.

"I thought you'd never ask!" said Naruto excitedly. "My entire life felt as though it was turned upside down when I turned. I don't know how you dealt with it, but I was a mess knowing I'm dead."

Naruto then proceeded to tell Sasuke everything that had happened while he wasn't around. Most of it he could have done without knowing, like what new music had come out to what new stuff he and Karin got up to.

Not being able to take it anymore, Sasuke got up and headed to the bathroom. Unfortunately, He didn't have the strength to shut out Naruto and so he had to bathe while listening to the blonde.

Sasuke then went back to his bed when he was done and when he was about to slip into the covers, he turned to Naruto.

"Listen," Sasuke started, cutting Naruto off mid-sentence. "I. Need. Sleep. I'm going to become very 'antisocial' if I don't get it now. Get Out. I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Demo… I have school in the—"

"Now, Naruto."

Naruto quit while he was still able to and pouted, stomping his feet as he left the bedroom and proceeded to slam the door in spite.

Sasuke sighed at the behavior but was glad to be alone. He hadn't meant to be rude to Naruto but he really did need to get some alone time or he swore he would have a meltdown.

Not even bothering to get under the covers, Sasuke fell across the bed and instantly felt slumber reign.

It was good to be home.

* * *

**__****__****__********______****_And that's it readers! I started writing as soon as I got home and swore to not sleep until I wrote you all a chapter, as short as it is (That plan fell through as I fell asleep while rereading last night lol). My apologies to you once more for this incredibly late update but work… sigh* is choking me. I swear I want to have my fics done by the New Year and that's what I'm aiming for even if I stay home a day or two and write a 20000 word chapter each to end them because I know when I start school again, it'll be hell._**

**__****__****__********______****__****_If you have not read Hina hime__, a Happy Ending__, or Following the Sun__ please do._**

**__****__****__********______****__****________****_Until next update…_**

**__****__****__********______****__****________****__****_Ja ne!_**

**__****__****__********______****__****________****__****__****_Please review, I love it when you do! (I miss them)_**


	50. Little Hanabi

**_Hi there guys and gals lol! It's time for chapter 50‼ I had not planned for it to be as long as the one in _Hina hime_ but it's close in length._**

**_ I know this is a _very _late update, seeing as I told you I'd wanted to get back to writing and updating every week. The reason for this late update would be that I've had no internet. Whatsoever. It killed me to not have it for all this time and I wasn't even motivated into writing because I knew I would not be able to update afterwards. _**

**_There isn't much to say as usual, other than the fact that I have a cold and stress from work is still killing me. _**

**_Please excuse any errors and formatting issues. R&R‼!_**

* * *

**Chapter 50: Little Hanabi**

It was relatively late but Hinata didn't feel like getting out of bed.

Turning to the side, she saw that Neji was not there and figured he was getting ready or had already left for school. Both she and Sasuke had decided not to attend school since it was Friday; it was better to just start on the first day of the week, and month for that matter.

_"-said leave me alone!"_

Hinata's ears seemed to prickle at the voice she recognized as Hanabi's. She heard Neji's softer tones but could not understand what he was saying.

Immediately, Hinata jumped out of bed and went downstairs to see what was going on. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she could not believe what she was seeing.

Neither Neji nor Hanabi had seen her yet but Hinata could only stare in shock at her sister.

Hanabi was a shell of her former self, her once cute and chubby cheeks sunken between dark, loose locks of dull hair; some of it pulled into a messy bun to reveal multiple piercings in unusual parts of her ears.

She was wearing very dark eye makeup, hollowing her eyes further. Her once vibrant eyes were dull, yet glassy and curtained by heavy lashes, her lips burgundy.

The uniform Hanabi was wearing was absolutely inappropriate for school— and that was saying something, seeing as the usual skirts were rather short and there were some minor variations to the dress code.

At least she was wearing shorts under her skirt, but that was not the point.

Navy blue nails, very high socks on extremely thin legs and combats finished off the look.

The argument in front of her, threw Hinata's thoughts.

"-told you time and time again you can't tell me what to do," said Hanabi. "You're not the boss of me!"

Hinata could see the frustration on Neji's face.

"If you don't stop with this behavior, I'm going to have to call Oji-san," he threatened.

"Call him then," Hanabi said, her body language was awful; she really seemed not to care. "Do you think it would bother me?"

Neji sighed. "Hanabi, go put on some proper clothes, _onegai_."

"Iie!"

"I've been receiving complaints from your teachers about the way you're dressing r school. You could be suspended," Neji told her.

Hanabi scoffed. "Pfft! Like I give a shit-"

"Watch your language."

Hinata had heard enough.

"Hanabi!"

The argument stopped right away at hearing Hinata's voice. "What is going on here?" she asked.

"I didn't mean to disturb you when you should be resting," said Neji, but he was cut off before he could say anything else.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" Hanabi asked in shock. She turned to Neji. "Why the hell didn't you tell me my sister came back?"

"Don't speak to Neji like that," Hinata said.

"Forget him," said Hanabi, waving the subject off. "When did you come back? Everyone was worried about you and Sasuke."

At least Hanabi seemed genuinely glad Hinata was back.

"There was a bit of a mix up," Hinata said. "I'll explain it when you get home from school."

"What? You're not going?" asked Hanabi. "You missed a whole lot of school and you're still going to skip today? Man, I wish I could be you."

Hinata didn't know what to say. She was just in a state of shock at Hanabi's new attitude.

"I need a bit of rest, that's all," said Hinata. She looked at the nearby clock. "You two are going to be late for school," she continued. Her attention caught on to Hanabi's uniform again. "And _what_ are you wearing?"

Hanabi looked down at herself then faced Hinata again. "It's my new style. Great, isn't it?"

"Iie, it's not," said Neji, after not saying anything for awhile. "I've been telling her for weeks it's not suitable-"

"I wasn't speaking to you," Hanabi cut in.

"Hanabi!" said Hinata. "I told you not to speak to Neji like that."

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "He's been getting on my nerves," she said.

"He's your guardian when either me or Otou-san can't be with you," said Hinata. "So you show him some respect, okay?"

"Whatever."

"Pardon me?" asked Hinata.

"Hai," Hanabi drawled.

"You know you're not leaving the house like that, don't you?" Hinata told her younger sister.

"Like hell I'm not," said Hanabi. Her face made a strange expression like she was going to be sick. "Oh Kami, not again."

Before Hinata could say anything else, Hanabi had her hands to her mouth and was tottering to the nearest bathroom. Retching could be heard soon afterwards.

Hinata looked Neji's way. "What's going on with Hanabi?" she asked him.

"I've been trying to tell you last night how much she's changed," said Neji. "Now it's her being sick every five minutes."

Hinata pressed her fingers to her temples. "I'm going upstairs a minute," she said.

* * *

Making her way up the stairs to her room, Hinata began to process everything that had just happened. There was no way that person downstairs puking in the bathroom was her little, sweet Hanabi.

At the sight of her returning, Hanabi would be hugging her and telling her how much she missed her, wanting to know everything about what had happened while she was away.

She would never speak to Neji the way she had and not even think about wearing what she was, always wanting longer skirts from being a bit of a tomboy when she was younger and never being one to attract attention.

The piercings Hinata could handle, but she would have to inspect to see if the girl had indeed gone overboard for such a young age, going as far as other piercings or tattoos.

Then, there was the issue of Hanabi being sick as well. The girl did not seem to be eating either from her appearance.

Hinata did not want to admit it, but it very much looked like the girl was on _something_. She did not know what that something was, but it was gnawing away at the Hanabi Hinata used to know.

Even more, Hinata knew something else was going on with Hanabi and it was going to be dangerous and serious. Hinata was not so blind, having almost been put in a similar situation.

When Hinata got to her room, she went straight to the bathroom to have a quick shower and then got ready.

Hinata took up the phone from her dresser and dialed when she was done, not having the time to start up her computer. Sasuke answered, sounding very tired.

"Can you take me somewhere today? It's rather important," she asked him.

_"Where do you need to go?"_ Sasuke replied through a yawn.

"I'm going to the doctor," said Hinata.

Sasuke's voice became more lively. _"Nani? Is something wrong?"_

"Iie—well it's not me," Hinata said. "I think Hanabi is very sick and I don't want to keep Neji from school."

_"Okay, I'll be there soon."_

Both Hinata and Sasuke hung up and she was back downstairs before Hanabi or Neji left.

Hinata found Neji about to go outside and called to him.

"Where's Hanabi?" she asked him.

Neji pointed in the direction of the bathroom, where retching could still be heard. "She's not stopped throwing up," he said. "It's been like this lately. She'll be at school later."

"Neji-"

Her cousin shushed her with a finger. "Don't work yourself up."

"Demo… I think Hanabi has more than drugs to worry about," said Hinata.

Neji shushed Hinata again, opened the door and pulled her out to the porch with him; he shut the door.

"So you agree it's drugs?" Neji whispered.

"Of course I do," said Hinata, just as softly. "I should have picked up on the signs long before I left for the Hitomi Realm."

"What else do you think is wrong?" asked Neji.

"I have high suspicions of it but I can't be sure," said Hinata. "But I'm going to find out today. This has to be sorted out before it's too late and I can't even let it wait until tomorrow."

"Do you want me to stay home?" asked Neji. "What are you going to do?"

"Iie, it's okay. You don't have to miss classes," Hinata told him. "It's better for me to deal with it since Hanabi still trusts me."

"But what are you going to do?" Neji stressed.

"I'm taking Hanabi to see a doctor," Hinata told him. "I don't think it would be wise to call our person physician."

"Hinata, it's your first day back and you need your rest," started Neji but Hinata stopped him.

"I have to do this after seeing Hanabi this morning," said Hinata. "I won't be able to get any rest knowing Hanabi's destroying herself."

"How will you get there?" asked Neji.

"I'll call Sasuke," said Hinata. "He's taking the day off from school today as well."

"What's all the whispering about?"

Hinata and Neji turned to see Hanabi in the large door, face clammy despite she'd clearly washed it, and snorting her nose.

"Neji told me you've been sick for awhile so I'm taking you to the doctor," said Hinata carefully.

Hanabi sneered. "I've not been _that_ sick," she said. "I'm going to school so Neji, are you taking me or what?"

"Hanabi," said Hinata. "You're going to the doctor with me to make sure you're okay."

Hanabi rolled her eyes, which seemed to be her new habit. "I told you I'm fine-"

"We're going," said Hinata. She turned to Neji. "I'll see you after school."

Neji nodded and, with that, he was walking towards the garage to his car.

Hinata rounded on her younger sister. She clapped her hands together. "Right! We're going to the doctor so you'll have the day off as you wished. Go change because Sasuke will be here soon."

"I didn't wish for the day off," said Hanabi. "I have stuff to do, people to see."

"Well that will have to wait," said Hinata. She grabbed Hanabi's shoulders and steered her into the house, closing the door.

Hanabi took out her cell phone and began to type away furiously as she went up the stairs.

"Where did you get that?" Hinata asked her.

"Konohamaru," was the reply before Hanabi disappeared over the stairs into her bedroom and Hinata heard the door shut.

* * *

Hinata went to the kitchen to get some breakfast before Sasuke got there, fixing up a quick ham and cheese sandwich for Hanabi and then another one for her lunch in case the visit to the doctor would be long—she suspected it would be—and got a drink from her wrist as she'd forgotten to get some blood earlier.

The roar of Sasuke's car was heard outside before the horn sounded and Hinata called upstairs for her sister to come down.

Once again, Hinata was rendered speechless at what Hanabi was wearing.

She was dressed in a tiny pleated jeans skirt even shorter than her uniform's with chains, a fishnet shirt over a pink tank top, fishnet stockings under knee high pink socks, and boots.

Hanabi's ears held even more earrings now, her neck was collared with spikes, and spikes also adorned her wrists. Her eye makeup was heavier now, false lashes added and more exaggerated creases; the lipstick was a glossy pink.

"I hope this doesn't take long, I have stuff to do," Hanabi commented as she came down.

Not even bothering to say anything, Hinata led the way outside to Sasuke. She could feel Sasuke's disbelief at what he was seeing and see the blatant shock on his face as she and her sister walked to the car and got in.

Sasuke schooled his face as best he could.

"Hey Hinata, Hanabi."

"Hi, Sasuke," Hinata replied but Hanabi said nothing as she stared outside the rolled up window.

Hinata didn't exactly expect her to anyway, as the girl was blasting music from her earphones attached to the phone and Hinata wondered where the mp3 she'd gotten for Christmas was.

"What's up with her?" Sasuke asked softly, so as to not let Hanabi hear over her music as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the street.

Hinata sighed. "I'm not sure, but it can't be good."

"I'll say. She looks more like a vampire than we do."

The trip to the doctor's was a fairly long one, seeing as it was in the city, and it was very quiet.

No one spoke the whole time although Hinata and Sasuke were able to communicate a little through their subtle antics. Her mate was obviously worried and more than curious to know what was going on but Hinata herself was not sure yet.

Hanabi just sat in the back, typing away on the new phone of hers when she was not looking through the window until they got to their destination.

Sasuke pulled up in the parking lot of the doctor's office and everyone got out. When they got inside the office, Hinata filled out the form for Hanabi and then sat in an ivory couch in the waiting room next to Sasuke and Hanabi.

This was a private practitioner and so the wait was not very long as he functioned off appointments. Hinata was excused, being well known by her Hyuuga name and so was allowed to see him.

A nurse came to the three of them after awhile and smiled.

"My name is Suzume," she said. "Please come this way."

Hinata and Hanabi followed the nurse down a hallway to a large white door that blended with the rest of the interior. Sasuke had stayed behind, not being a relative or guardian to Hanabi. Hinata plucked the earphones from Hanabi when they got to the door.

Suzume knocked on the door and opened it for them to go in.

The room was spacious so all of the attention was on the man that sat at his desk. He motioned for them to sit after they bowed politely.

"Ohayo," he said, his voice soothing and very pleasant. "I'm Takahiro. Hanabi-chan?"

The addressed girl looked up and Takahiro smiled. "I'd like you sit on the bed, onegai."

Hanabi dragged herself up and sat on the bed near the wall at the back of the room. Hinata watched as the doctor followed and proceeded to perform basic procedures such as the taking of blood pressure, weight and so on. He did make a comment on Hanabi's weight, saying she was a couple pounds underweight.

When he was done, he led her back to the desk.

"Now," he said. "What brings you here?"

Hanabi sniffed. "Nothing, my idiot of a cousin convinced my older sister I'm sick."

Takahiro nodded, scribbling away. "Well, it does seem as though you're suffering some ailments from just looking at you, Hanabi-chan."

Hinata added, "I've been away for awhile and so our cousin has been taking care of Hanabi. He said she's been ill lately, throwing up and stuff."

"…I see," said Takahiro, and Hinata had a feeling the man knew what was going on. "I'm going to ask you some questions, okay?"

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Hanabi, address Takahiro-sensei correctly," Hinata reprimanded. She could not get over how rude Hanabi had become.

Takahiro cleared his throat and took a form from a drawer in his desk. "How long have these symptoms been occurring?" he asked Hanabi.

"I don't know, Takahiro-_sensei_," answered Hanabi. "Maybe a few weeks?"

"What exactly has been happening?" asked the man.

Hanabi smacked her lips. "Puking, some killer headaches."

"When was your last period?"

The question seemed to stump the girl. "I have no idea, it's just spots of the stuff."

"Have you been feeling excessively tired?"

"Hai."

"Are you sexually active?"

That question hung in the air like an elephant in the room and Hinata waited with bated breath for the answer.

"…Iie."

"Are you currently taking any medications, drugs?"

"Sometimes."

Takahiro continued to jot down his notes as the questions continued, eyebrow raised. "The reason for all these symptoms could be stress from at school, hormonal changes and so on. Very normal for your age except the nausea and a few other issues I've encountered during examination, unless you have the cold or flu—which you don't," said Takahiro. "We will need some samples from you, Hanabi-chan, and we'll have to run some tests as well."

He looked at Hinata and she nodded, giving her permission. She was given a permission form to complete.

The doctor buzzed for the nurse and Suzume was there immediately.

The woman took Hanabi to another room and returned with Hanabi in tow, wearing a thin robe not too long afterwards.

The doctor excused himself, leaving Hinata as he went with the nurse to the bed where Hanabi was now sitting, this time pulling the curtains to lend privacy.

Hinata was so nervous she would have sworn it was her being examined. She took her phone from her purse when it beeped softly.

Hinata saw it was a message from Sasuke.

**Is e/thing ok so far?**

Hinata replied.

**Not sure. Hanabi's being examined atm.**

Hinata then got up. "I'm going outside for a minute," she said and was through the door.

Sasuke was there on the couch waiting when she got to the waiting room.

"So?" he asked. "You were giving off some strong vibes."

Hinata sat down.

"I'm trying to be calm," said Hinata.

"About what?" asked Sasuke. "It's just a checkup to make sure Hanabi's alright."

Actually, Hinata knew it was not but she did not want to say anything to Sasuke just yet. She wanted to be sure.

"Hai," she said. "I have to go back in, but we should be out in no time."

* * *

Hinata went back to the office, knocking before she entered and sat in the chair. The minutes passed by and Hinata found herself daydreaming by the time Hanabi, the doctor, and the nurse came back out.

Takahiro's face had changed. He sat down and began scribbling as the nurse ushered Hanabi to get dressed again.

When she returned, he addressed Hinata.

"I have results from some of the tests that were performed," he stated. "Other tests will have to be taken as a result of these.

"I… have found that Hanabi-chan has not been completely honest with me but tests have confirmed certain issues."

Hinata glanced at her younger sister to see she actually looked nervous now. Hinata just prayed her suspicions were wrong.

"What are the issues?" asked Hinata.

"She is very unhealthy and I advise your father be included in this matter," said the doctor soberly. "A young adult such as yourself won't be able to help Hanabi make the proper decisions she needs."

"What's wrong?" asked Hanabi before Hinata could. "Why would Otou-san have to be involved?"

"You are a minor and Hinata-chan is not much older than you are," said the doctor. He turned his attention to Hinata again. "Hanabi-chan has not been honest with us, I'm afraid.

Tests and samples have shown she has indeed been sexually active-"

"Hanabi, is this true?" Hinata said. She had hoped it wouldn't be.

Hanabi looked to the side. "Hai."

"Nani? Why would you do that and lie to me and the doctors?" Hinata asked.

"Calm down, onegai," Takahiro placated. "That is only one of the findings, I'm afraid."

Hinata breathed deeply, already knowing what was coming.

"There was a trace of illegal drugs in the blood test," said the doctor; he looked at Hanabi sternly for a moment. Hanabi looked caught in the headlights. The doctor's expression then turned somber. "Further tests on speculation confirm Hanabi is also pregnant."

The silence in the room after the statement made Hinata's ears ring. She faced Hanabi who stared at Takahiro, completely flabbergasted.

"I'm _what_?" she whispered.

"You're six weeks pregnant, Hanabi-chan," said the doctor.

Hinata felt her blood run cold and was sure Hanabi's had as well. The girl sat there in a state of shock, mouth opened and eyes as wide as saucers.

"I can't be," she said, mostly to herself. "I didn't even go through with it all the way."

Takahiro stopped writing notes, focusing all his attention on Hanabi. "Did you think of the use any type of protection or was the situation one of force?" he asked her.

Hanabi nodded, then shook her head. "I can't remember clearly," she whispered. "Demo… my boyfriend said I couldn't handle it."

"Hanabi-chan, did your take advantage of you?" asked the doctor carefully.

Hanabi shook her head. "Iie, I was a little out of it."

"You were under influence," the man said.

"Kinda," said Hanabi. "Konohamaru said it was something new."

Hinata felt as though her throat was on fire from the urge to scream.

Takahiro rubbed his temples. "This situation goes beyond me," he said to Hinata. He continued to write; Hanabi was silent.

"I'll have to refer you into taking Hanabi-chan to a counselor, rehab will have to be called to order. Dealing with illegal substances is a very serious matter and it has to be dealt with as soon as possible. I'll be making calls right away. The authorities and Hanabi-chan's school will be contacted to crack down on the other students involved and they will be dealt with as well.

"Consultations and appointments will have to be made to OB/GYN," the doctor continued.

"Further tests, as I have said before, will be taken with me so an appointment will be scheduled. A decision will also have to be made on the outcome of Hanabi's pregnancy. That is, whether Hanabi will be continuing her pregnancy, terminating it, considering government welfare, or looking into adoption. This will be discussed with OB/GYN and the counselor."

Hinata was hardly hearing anything the doctor was saying and was glad he was writing it all down for her. She saw Hanabi's tears as tears of her own formed.

She was not even sure when Takahiro led both her and Hanabi outside but she signed the papers and collected the brochures given to her.

Nothing was said to Sasuke when he asked about what had happened, seeing Hanabi crying and Hinata so obviously upset, as they got into the car.

Sasuke turned the ignition and was on the way to her home.

They were about halfway when Hinata snapped.

"Sasuke, pull over."

Sasuke, already sensing Hinata's inner turmoil, pulled over. She knew he would not intervene unless something got out of hand.

Hinata unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to Hanabi. The girl looked smaller than ever, crying silently in the backseat.

"Hanabi," said Hinata, gaining her little sister's bleary attention.

"What are you on?"

Hanabi kept quiet.

"Hanabi, you will answer me and if you _dare_ lie to me you won't like it," Hinata said fiercely.

"…Ecstasy and some other pills," whispered Hanabi.

Hinata saw Sasuke's eyes widen at the answer but he said nothing.

"What else?" Hinata demanded.

Hanabi sniffed lightly. "Blow."

"Blow? Cocaine?‼" asked Hinata in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

Hanabi was not even given the chance to answer.

"Who was it?" she asked. "That got you pregnant? Konohamaru, right?"

This time, Sasuke's entire body was stunned.

"Hai," Hanabi said.

"Hanabi, how could you do something like this?" Hinata outright yelled. Others in vehicles passing were looking their way. "What were you thinking?"

Hanabi stared out the window. "I don't know," she said defiantly, tears still streaming down her face.

"You don't know?" Hinata repeated. "You're on drugs and pregnant, Hanabi! He could have given you an STD!"

"He loves me!" Hanabi shouted. "He said he would never hurt me!"

"And you believed him, Hanabi? Konohamaru is a troublemaker and I should have never let you date him had I known. He introduced you to terrible things and probably told countless other girls the same thing he told you!" said Hinata angrily. You're lucky it's me you're with and not Otou-san. Do you know how he's going to react when he finds out? Out of the three of us, you're his favorite and you just about threw your life away!"

Sasuke touched her shoulder to try to calm her down but she shrugged him off at Hanabi's reply.

"I didn't throw my life away!" yelled Hanabi. "I didn't want to become addicted to it! I don't want a child!"

"But you wanted the drugs, the parties, and the sex?" Hinata asked angrily. "That's not a life for someone your age!"

"Like you would care!" Hanabi screeched.

"Yes, I do care or I wouldn't feel like killing you right now! Do you have any idea how much this will affect all of us, Hanabi? Do you? You have to go to rehab for taking crap and on top of that, you're going to have all kinds of complications from being pregnant in school if you keep the baby!"

"I'm not going to rehab!" Hanabi insisted. "And I'm not keeping this thing either!"

"Hai! You are!" Hinata told the girl. "Or I'm going to lock you up myself and shove my fingers down your throat until there's no more drugs in your system!" She said nothing of the pregnancy.

"Hinata-" Sasuke started. He was ignored.

Hanabi started to cry, from frustration. "Leave me the hell alone!" she screamed. "I hate you!"

"Iie!" Hinata screamed back. She lashed out, slapping Hanabi in the face sharply. "How dare you!"

"Hinata, don't!" said Sasuke. He held Hinata's hand before she could deliver another one. Hanabi was quiet, sobbing now as she held her cheek.

Hinata turned around in the seat and buckled her seatbelt as Sasuke moved off. She was not sorry for what she had done in the least at the moment.

Hanabi had not only disrespected her, but she had definitely gone past Hinata's limits.

Hinata decided then and there that she would be treating Hanabi not as the little girl she'd once known because she was lost and Hinata could only hope to find that little Hanabi somewhere in the mess that was sitting in the back seat.

Hinata could not find where she had gone wrong in being as good a sister and guardian but she wasn't losing to this.

Sasuke found Hinata's hand and held it, squeezing lightly.

* * *

When Sasuke pulled up at Hinata's home, Hanabi opened the door right away and rushed inside, no doubt to her room.

Hinata saw that Neji was not at home yet and turned to her mate.

"Sasuke," Hinata said brokenly and Sasuke reached over to hug her tightly as she started to cry. "What am I going to do?"

"Shh it will work out," said Sasuke into Hinata's hair. "You just have to be there for Hanabi and I'll be here for you."

Hinata gripped to Sasuke tighter. "I can't call Otou-san," she said. "I don't want to think about what he'll do if he finds out about this."

"You have to tell him if Hanabi wants to keep her baby," said Sasuke. "He'll know what to do."

"Iie," said Hinata. "He'd catch a heart attack or stroke! …I have to handle this."

Sasuke held Hinata's shoulders to face her. "Then just be careful," he said. "We're not that much older than Hanabi is and it'll be hard."

"I know," said Hinata. "When Neji gets home, I'll have to let him know what's going on as well."

"Don't worry about me saying anything about this," said Sasuke. "I won't say a thing to anyone. Just take care of your sister."

"Hai," said Hinata. She kissed Sasuke briefly. "I have to go inside and talk to her," Hinata continued.

"Hanabi really needs you right now," Sasuke agreed.

Hinata nodded and got out. "I'll talk to you later," she said to him.

"Hai," said Sasuke.

Hinata watched as her mate drove off and made her way to the house.

* * *

**_And that is the end of this chapter. I really hope you liked it because I have a TERRIBLE backache from working and then typing and editing this. _**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_, or _Following the Sun_, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	51. Aneko's Decision

**_Hey there everyone! I honestly was just a little lazy, being bored and wanting to write but not up to it. Great attitude for someone who would have liked to finish her fics before the year 2011 got here and it's now February hehe!  
Anyway, I'm trying the method of 1500 words or so a chapter again and I think it'll be fine so let's get this chapter rolling then!_**

**_Excuse any errors and formatting issues. Please R&R‼!_**

* * *

**Chapter 51: Aneko's Decision**

Hinata cautiously went to Hanabi's door and knocked.

She could hear crying beyond the wood and sighed, almost wishing she had not been so hard on her younger sister earlier.

"Hanabi?" Hinata called softly. "Open up."

"Iie… Go away," Hanabi said miserably, her voice muffled.

Hinata could tell the girl would not be letting her in for a while and opted to sit on the floor. "I'm right here and I'm not leaving," Hinata said. "I'm not going anywhere until we talk."

Hinata decided it was better to just be calm about this whole thing from now on because screaming was only going to make it worse.

There was so much going on with Hanabi that Hinata had an excruciating headache just thinking about it.

Where was she going to start?

"I just want to be left alone," came Hanabi's voice. She sounded closer to the door.

Hinata leaned against the door. "You can talk to me, Imouto," said Hinata. "Gomen. I didn't mean to yell at you or hit you earlier, but I was so shocked to hear my baby sister is on cocaine, she's pregnant, and she's nothing like the girl I used to know."

Hinata felt the door move and knew Hanabi had come to sit at the door as well.

"I didn't want to become addicted to this crap," said Hanabi, sadly. "Konohamaru introduced it to me and I just… it got carried away. I didn't want to get pregnant either like those idiots on TV and magazines. I guess I must be even more of an idiot since I'm younger than they are."

Hinata smiled sadly. "I know," Hinata told her sister. "You're not an idiot though, Hanabi. You just got a little lost."

Suddenly Hinata found herself flat on her back since the door was unexpectedly opened.

"Oops!" said Hanabi, before she helped Hinata up and pulled her into the room.

* * *

Hinata looked around the room as Hanabi spoke. It really did not look much different to how it had when the girl hadn't been on drugs.

The room was still an utter mess with clothes and shoes all over the place and slopped messily in the closet, makeup thrown on the dresser, candy wrappers added here and there and an unmade bed in the middle of it all.

"- think I should do?"

Hinata barely caught on to the question that her sister had asked. "About what?" she asked.

"Weren't you listening?" Hanabi asked annoyed. "I thought you wanted to talk to me and now you're not even paying attention to what I'm saying?"

Hinata felt ashamed. "I'm so sorry, Hanabi," she said. "It's just that this is so very much to handle. What had you asked?"

Hanabi huffed, flopping on her nest of a bed with Hinata coming to sit next to her after moving a pile of clothes. Hanabi rubbed her stomach absently.

"I'm asking you about the fact that I'm pregnant," Hanabi said. She tapped her stomach then. "_This_, I don't want it and I doubt Konohamaru will."

"How do you know that?" asked Hinata, not bothering to address the fact that Hanabi clearly stated over and over she wanted nothing to do with having the baby. "Konohamaru may love the baby more than you know."

"I don't care about whether he wants it or not, Aneko," said Hanabi. "I don't. It's going to ruin my life."

"You should have thought about that before doing what you did," said Hinata. "You have to take responsibilities for your actions. If you hadn't gotten involved with Konohamaru, who already has a bad reputation, he wouldn't have given you the drugs and you wouldn't be pregnant."

"But I did meet him," said Hanabi. "I can't change that and I love him."

Hinata sighed. Some people really threw that word around too easily.

"Would you die for him?" asked Hinata. "Would he die for you?"

Hanabi looked at Hinata as though she had grown another head. "_Die_? Who's gonna die? I'm not going to die for him and he sure as hell isn't going to die for me either."

Hinata smiled sadly. "Then, Imouto, you two are not in love" she said, then elaborated. "I'm not saying you're going to go out there and get yourselves killed proclaiming love, but I'm talking real situations."

"Like what?" asked Hanabi. "What could possibly go on that would cause me or Konohamaru to risk our lives?"

"Actually risking your life to save another person," Hinata said. "Jumping in the way of a speeding car to push another out of danger, going through what feels like hell to be with someone, things like that."

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "Stuff like that only happens in sappy movies and romance novels," said Hanabi.

"That's not entirely true," said Hinata. "What Sasuke and I have is like that. What you, me, and Neji share is like that. I'd risk everything to save you and so would Neji and I know if it came to it, you'd save us too. That's the kind of love I'm talking about."

Hanabi remained silent and Hinata decided to continue. She touched Hanabi's arm soothingly. "You're not too young to know what true love is, you can feel it for anyone close to you. When you want to kill them but if they're hurt, you feel it.

Will you never feel that for Konohamaru or your baby?"

Hanabi closed her eyes. She shook her head. "I don't feel that way about Konohamaru," she stated slowly. "And I won't love what's in me right now. It is just going to be a burden if I let it grow, Aneko.

I know it sounds cruel but I'm not. I just don't want to hate and resent a child and have him or her feel unwanted because of the way I got pregnant. When I have babies, I want to be ready… I'm n-not ready."

Hinata reached to wipe away Hanabi's tears then pulled Hanabi up for a tight embrace. Hanabi cried harder.

"I'm so sorry, Aneko!" said Hanabi remorsefully. "I messed up."

Hinata patted her sister's back sympathetically. "Hai."

Hanabi leaned back to look at Hinata directly. "Don't send me to rehab, _onegai_."

Hinata searched Hanabi's eyes, seeing the pleading there and the panic.

"Gomen," said Hinata. "Demo… I have to send you. You need help."

"You can do it!" Hanabi said quickly. "You can help me quit!"

Hinata shook her head. "How?" she asked. "I don't have the skills to be able to get you to quit."

"But it starts with me, right?" asked Hanabi tearfully. "I _want_ to stop. I don't want to stop really, but I know I have to or I'll be in trouble. I don't want to be a pregnant drug addict."

"You're already a pregnant drug addict," said Hinata. "The girl who's on drugs that got knocked up by no-good Konohamaru."

Hanabi sobbed harder and Hinata felt bad for saying it but she knew that would be the label Hanabi would have if she didn't truly pull herself together.

"What's going to happen to him?" asked Hanabi. "To Konohamaru?"

Hinata sighed. "He's also going to get the help he needs, as well as the others involved in supplying drugs at school," said Hinata. "You're not to see him again."

Hanabi gasped. "Demo! I-"

"Iie," said Hinata. "I won't let you see him again and don't you try to either or you won't like it. You'll be lucky if expulsion is dealt for all of you as it is."

Hanabi rolled her eyes for what must have been the hundredth time if Hinata had been counting. She calmed down enough to wipe her eyes. "There you go again, acting like my mother."

"That's what I am to you," said Hinata with a slight smile. "Your sister, your friend, your mother-figure all rolled into one."

"And it sucks," murmured Hanabi.

"Hai, it does, makes me sound old," Hinata said.

Hanabi smiled, her eyes so dull yet glassy sparkling for a brief moment and it made Hinata's heart warm.

Everything was silent as the sun moved downward to cast the room in gold.

"Aneko," said Hanabi softly.

Hinata looked to her sister.

"Arigatou… for not telling Otou-san," the younger Hyuuga said. "He would be really pissed if he knew what happened."

"It's alright," said Hinata. "I just hope everything works out."

"Aneko?" Hanabi called again. "I really don't want to stay pregnant. I want an abortion as soon as possible."

Hinata stared into her sister's eyes, seeing there was nothing she could say to sway the girl's mind, Determination was set and that was that.

"Okay," said Hinata. She touched her hand to Hanabi's stomach. "Demo… Hanabi when you do this, there's no going back. You can't undo an abortion."

"I know that," said Hanabi.

"You'll have to go to counseling and stuff before and after to make sure it's what you really want," Hinata continued.

"Hai," Hanabi drawled and then she grabbed Hinata's hands. "Look, I _want_ this…

What would you have done?"

Hinata knew the question was going to come eventually, as all things she had been expecting in the last couple of hours so far and knew the answer. The question Hinata had to ask herself was if she wanted to give her honest opinion.

"I would have done the same as you for the same reasons," said Hinata, finally. "And, quite truthfully, you're making this decision based on more than… I would have. I would have made the choice for selfish reasons."

Hanabi stared at her sister. "I thought of that too," she said. "Being downright selfish."

"I guess everyone does," Hinata said. "Not wanting the shame and humiliation, not wanting to hinder being able to study properly or follow a dream that doesn't involve having a child yet. Then there's the issue of money and patience, if the father will still support you, getting up in the middle of the night-"

"Oh wow and here I thought you probably would have been trying to encourage me to keep it," Hanabi cut in with a snort.

"Gomen," said Hinata. "Demo, these are all the things you have to think about when you're in this kind of situation and you have an addition to get over on top of that."

* * *

There was a noise downstairs signaling Neji was home before he called out to see if Hinata and Hanabi were home yet.

"We're up here!" Hinata yelled back.

Neji came up and entered the room with a knock.

"How did everything go?" he asked Hinata.

"It's what we thought it was," Hinata replied and Neji pressed his eyes shut briefly before coming closer to sit next to Hinata.

"You talked to him about me?" asked Hanabi with a sneer. "Why?"

"Because he's your father-figure when Otou-san isn't here," said Hinata. "We're a family and need to share these things."

"Whatever," said Hanabi, reverting to the rude teenager Hinata saw earlier that morning.

"Hanabi," said Hinata. "Neji is just like me, trying to help you. If he hadn't told me what was going on, we wouldn't have been able to help you."

Hanabi remained quiet.

"Hanabi," said Neji. "I'm not trying to be my uncle Hiashi. I'm concerned about you."

Hinata turned to Hanabi as well. "We'll talk later," she said and the girl nodded, watching as Hinata and Neji left her room.

* * *

Hinata and Neji headed to his room instead of hers.

Waiting until Neji went in the bath, Hinata sat at his desk. Tapping her nails on the wooden surface, Hinata's mind went absolutely blank until Neji startled her by touching her shoulder.

"You're really out of it," Neji commented. He was in a towel, drying his hair with another. "You didn't hear a word I said just now."

"Gomen," said Hinata. "It's been happening a lot today, I think."

"You two seem to be taking the news well," said Neji. He went to look for something to wear.

"Trust me, it calmed down since we heard about Hanabi's situation," Hinata told her cousin. "Some awful things were said and I even slapped her."

Neji stopped in his tracks. "Oookay…."

"I was so upset, I lashed out," said Hinata apologetically.

"Don't become Ouji-san," said Neji seriously. "We promised ourselves _never_ to lay our hands on anyone, Hinata."

"And I won't ever again," said Hinata. "You have to understand the situation. We were in such a heated argument after we left the doctor that it got out of control."

Neji sighed. "Just don't let it happen again," he said. "You know the hurt we went through when we were younger. Don't put Hanabi through it too."

"You're making it sound like I used my fist on her, or pushed her down the stairs," said Hinata. "I know what Otou-san did was wrong. I would never do that to her."

Neji changed the subject as it was closed now. "What of getting Hanabi some help?" he asked. "Did the doctor have any suggestions?"

Hinata then told Neji all that had happened in the doctor's office.

"And you agree?" Neji asked Hinata when she was finished. "Do you really want to make that kind of decision?"

"Hai," said Hinata. "You know when I thought I was pregnant, I didn't want to keep it either. I was so relieved I wasn't I thought I'd died."

"But you weren't," said Neji. "You don't know what you would have really done had you been pregnant."

"The choice would have been the same as Hanabi's," said Hinata. "I'm taking her to get some counseling and start rehab from Monday."

"And what of school?" asked Neji. "Won't they contact Ouji-san?"

"I thought of that but we've stayed out of school before without my father knowing," said Hinata.

"But forging his signature on a letter is dangerous," Neji said.

"Have you forgotten how to?" Hinata asked.

Neji looked aside. "Iie. But, Hinata I thought that kind of thing was behind us."

"If we don't do this, Hanabi's condition will be found out and it will get back to Otou-san," said Hinata. "Do you really want to risk him going back to his old violent self from the shock that his youngest daughter is doing drugs and pregnant for some delinquent at school?"

Hinata knew she was asking a lot and this side of her didn't come out too often unless it was really needed but it had to be done.

"Are you sure this is want you want to do?" asked Neji. "If we're found out, we will have lots of people to answer to."

"Hai," said Hinata. "We have to save Hanabi from herself before it's too late and there's a little part of her that wants to be saved."

The final decision had been made.

* * *

**_And that is where I will be ending this chapter, faithful readers! I really hope you enjoyed this, as I was on a bit of a block—believe it or not—and had a hard time getting into writing. Strangely, when writing in dialogue the characters refuse to shut up lol! So I used that to help me write. My eyes are super swollen right now from stupid allergies so I'm less than happy, but I hope that did not show in my writing._**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_, or _Following the Sun_ please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	52. Brother to Brother

**_Hi there readers‼ Nothing to say at the moment but I'm sure I will come up with something soon. I still have some writer's block so I'm trying to deal with that and if you've not read the latest chapter of _Hina hime_, my uncle recently was sick and died and so that also threw everything off for me for a good while. Plus, at the beginning of this, my cousins were staring at the screen while I wrote… not the most comfortable feeling in the world to have someone over you as you write. Anyway, let's get to it. _**

**_Excuse any errors and formatting issues and R&R‼!_**

**_

* * *

_**

**Chapter 52: Brother to Brother**

**o**

"-to kill him!"

Sasuke woke up groggily to Naruto storming across the hallway and just knew the blond was coming his way. Whatever it was, Naruto was not pleased and it took a lot to get Naruto riled up lately.

Sasuke's door was flung open to slam against the wall and Naruto stomped up to Sasuke as he sat up.

It was still very early in the morning, the sun was not even up and Naruto was in his room, ready to blow a fuse.

"Naruto wha-"

"Do you want to know what happened to me a few minutes ago?" said Naruto angrily.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes, not sure what to expect as Naruto was seriously pissed off.

Not waiting for Sasuke to guess, Naruto started his rant. "Do you know who just called me bashing in my eardrums about her son? Sora-san, Konohamaru's mother!"

Konohamaru's mother?

"Sora-san called _me_ saying she received news from the school that Konohamaru has been using and distributing drugs at school. What the hell! I knew nothing about it!" Naruto said quite loudly. "Even worse, the woman actually accused me of encouraging him to do it since he looks up to me and calls me his Nii-chan. Do I do drugs?"

Naruto started to pace around the room in an angry tirade. "What do I know about drugs? I don't even know what the real thing looks like. I knew Konohamaru was acting really weird lately with his little friends but so did I at that age, minus the crack he's done!"

The blond then rounded on Sasuke, who was about to get up to go to the bathroom.

"And _you_! Did you know he was going out with Hinata's little sister?" Naruto asked aggressively. Sasuke swore the house shook.

"I recently found out he was-"

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't think it was important, Naruto," Sasuke said, being irritable.

"Well Sora-san thinks it's important, bombarding me with questions about her since Konohamaru said I used to date Hinata," said Naruto. "I won't be surprised if she somehow gets Hinata's number and starts on her too!"

Sasuke would have to warn Hinata soon about that and he chose not to tell Naruto about Hanabi's involvement.

"Sora-can is seriously out of her mind! She was crying at screaming at me like some mad woman," said Naruto, holding his head. "Ugh! The stress of it all!"

Sasuke felt a little guilty at the moment, seeing as he had a little bit of knowledge about what was going on.

Naruto finally came to sit next to Sasuke, trapping him from getting up. "Why would that little idiot do something so stupid!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke didn't know what to say and, to be honest, he doubted he was able to talk at that moment. "I just hope Sora-san gets everything sorted out, Kami knows I don't want the police showing up here or someone calling your parents about this."

Shit… Sasuke hadn't thought of that. He would have to talk to Itachi.

"You made sure to let Sora-san know you have nothing to do with this right?" asked Sasuke.

"Hai," Naruto drawled. "If there's one thing I don't want, it's being accused of something like that. A reputation like that could ruin someone like me."

Sasuke knew Naruto meant the fact that he was an orphan and so he had to be on his Ps and Qs at all times so as not to cause any issues.

Naruto had been quite rebellious when he was younger, Sasuke being the one to really bring him out of that stage through the rivalry the once shared.

After the yelling, Naruto seemed a lot calmer now and so Sasuke skirted around him to go to the bathroom. When he came out, Naruto was still there.

"What do you think caused Konohamaru to turn to drugs?" Naruto asked Sasuke. "Why does anyone turn to drugs? Something so harmful and dangerous?"

"I really don't know," Sasuke replied. "As you said, Konohamaru was stupid for doing it and I just hope everyone involved will get the help they need."

* * *

Soon the entire population of the house was up and about the house.

It was the weekend and so everyone had their plans, whether it was to go out or just have a day home studying or relaxing.

For Sasuke, he was going to try to get some studying done and call Hinata later to ask about the situation with Hanabi.

Sai, who left to go out with Kin, and the others had provided him with their books and notes to copy and look over.

It made no sense asking for Naruto's since he knew the boy would just have the same thing anyways, seeing as he hated to take notes in class, preferring to eat with Chouji.

Sasuke could really see how much he'd missed, even twice what he had imagined as it was two month's worth of work.

All the assignments and homework made his head spin.

Seeing all of this work, Sasuke knew he would have to just ask for some kind of makeup assignment or something and Hinata would have to do the same.

For the meanwhile, he would look over everything so that when he had to do his makeup work, he would at least know what was going on.

As Sasuke was studying, the thoughts of Hinata's little sister ran through his head and the thought that Hinata got so angry.

He'd never seen that side of her before and could not believe Hinata had even gotten to the point of hitting Hanabi.

He remembered talking to Hinata about the way her father used to hit her and Neji when they were younger and had sworn never to do the same to others.

Sasuke guessed it boiled to how angry and frustrated Hinata became to actually get to that stage.

Hearing someone close to you was in such deep trouble was very upsetting and even now he could see it with Naruto.

Sasuke got up from his desk in the bedroom to go downstairs, taking some books with him.

He could sense his brother was in the house at the moment and no sooner had he come down the stairs, Itachi was as well.

"Strange to see you in the house," Sasuke commented. He went to the dining room table and placed his stuff there before sitting.

"I was getting ready to go out soon," Itachi informed him. "I just came to see what you were up to and talk."

"That's good because I wanted to talk to you too," said Sasuke. He jumped right into it. "There's some stuff Hinata has going on with her little sister and a lot of things are happening where it's concerned-"

"Is this how you want to talk to me?" asked Itachi. "So vaguely?"

"Gomen," Sasuke apologized. "It's just that no one is supposed to know about this."

Itachi leaned on the counter, folding his arms. "If no one is supposed to know, you would not be talking to me about it," he said. "Just tell me. I have no one to tattle to."

Sasuke flew into the full details of what was going on and Itachi listened attentively, adding his opinions and interrupting when he saw the need for better explanations.

"I won't let anyone call here or harass us," said Itachi. "You just have to make sure your mate is okay, because she sounds like she is under a world of stress right now."

"How do I do that?" asked Sasuke. "I'm there for her."

"Iie, you're not," Itachi contradicted. "You're here."

"I'm going over there soon," Sasuke informed.

"Good."

As Itachi passed Sasuke, the latter remembered something. "The person you had asked me about, did you get the chance to meet them?"

Itachi smirked. I _did_ meet that person," Itachi said. "Sort of."

Sasuke's curiosity peaked.

"Who is it?"

"A certain blonde I would have never in a million years thought it to be," Itachi replied.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Who is it?"

"Yamanaka Ino."

"Nani?"

Sasuke was sure he'd heard wrong. Ino, as in Hinata's best friend?

Ahh Hinata was very close to Ino, which would mean her scent would some way or another rub off on him.

"I was caught by surprise as well since I was definitely not expecting a younger female than myself," said Itachi. "But she smells so delicious-"

"I really don't want to know the details," Sasuke cut in. He had enough of that from Naruto on a daily basis.

"There are no details to tell," Itachi said. "I have not even approached the girl."

"Why not?" asked Sasuke. He knew his older brother was always the one to go after what he was interested in and what Itachi wanted, he usually got.

Itachi touched a finger to his chin. "Hmm I can't really explain it. Maybe it's because of her age as I prefer older women, that is, at least twenty-one."

Sasuke knew this to be true. After all, Itachi was around thirty so it made sense.

"It feels wrong to finally find someone who is my perfect taste but she's so young," said Itachi sitting at the table with Sasuke.

"Yeah, when you consider your age, it seems like you're some kind of pedophile," Sasuke said bluntly.

"Thanks a lot," Itachi replied sarcastically.

Sasuke muttered an apology.

He really liked when he and his brother could talk like this, it reminded him of when he was younger. Of course, Sasuke knew he annoyed Itachi at times but that was his job.

He also liked the fact that Itachi had come to him to talk. It made him feel even more mature.

"Look if you're sure Ino is your taste, go for it," Sasuke told his older brother. "Why bother about the age difference?"

"I'm not worried about that," said Itachi. "I just don't want any complications."

"Because being a vampire isn't complicated at all," Sasuke said. Oops! There he went with the sarcasm again. It must have rubbed off on him from someone.

"Of course not, the girl's parents will be thrilled to know," Itachi replied and Sasuke realized where it came from. "Anyway, I was waiting until you and Hinata returned to asked Hinata about the girl since she's Hinata's friend."

"Hai, I'm sure Hinata could tell you lots about Ino," Sasuke agreed. He wrote Hinata's cell number on a piece of paper and gave it to Itachi. "You can call Hinata; I'm sure she'd love to help."

Itachi nodded and took a look at the books Sasuke had laid out on the table.

"Trying to catch up?" Itachi asked his younger brother.

"Hai," I didn't know it would be two whole months of work," Sasuke said.

The door was heard opening then, and Naruto and Karin were heard.

Sasuke got up and piled the books, Itachi getting up as well.

"I'm not going to get any studying done with Naruto here," said Sasuke. "I'm going to go over to Hinata's or something."

Sasuke went to the door, grabbing his keys from the hook near the door. He suddenly remembered he had not been teaching Hinata to drive lately and put it on his to- do list even though she was drving like she been doing it for years already.

"Hey Sasuke."

The addressed looked around to see Itachi.

"Don't be back too late."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the older male and went through the door with a wave of his hand.

* * *

**_And that is where I will end this chapter. I'm sorry it took so long, I was probably just lazy since today is Wednesday and I started on Sunday lol! Didn't write until a little while ago. Anyway, I hope you liked it and for those of you who read both fics, I put this is Sasuke's POV to make up for the fact it was in Hinata's POV for the latest chapter of _Hina hime.**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_, or _Following the Sun_, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


	53. The Road to Recovery

**__****_Please review, I love it when you do‼_**  


**_ Hey there guys!_**

**_Gee it seems like I'm always sick ne? yup, I have the cold and it feels like my chest is blown to bits whenever I cough. So yeah, I was not in the mood to write or anything at all. Still doing some catching up in stuff but at least I'm gaining on them. My best friend has been constantly telling me she needs an update—will get to reading hers as well and you can too, it's Bleach though not Naruto—so I decided she's like all of you guys who can't strangle me in person lol! Also, some of the stuff in here about how abortions and the rehabs works may not be true but this is how I wanted them to go about it._**

**_Also, please enjoy as I made the chapter longer, despite I'm sick with both the cold and every girl's horror every month. This is entirely in Hinata's POV so I hope it's not a problem for you all._**

**_A/N: so what is written above is before I updated. I'm cool now, not sick so that's good :)_**

**_Side note to Nikki and all others who may not like it: Please don't read the section between the ooo. FF ate my rulers and stuff :/_**

**_Excuse any formatting issues and errors and R&R‼!_**

* * *

**Chapter 53: The Road to Recovery**

**O**

Hinata woke up to a phone call from Sasuke.

He'd told her Konohamaru's mother had called Naruto, accusing him of encouraging her son to use drugs. The woman had even gone on to ask about Hanabi since she is—well was—Konohamaru's girlfriend, which seemed to be connected to the fact that Naruto was previously going out with Hinata.

Sasuke told Hinata that he had not let Naruto know he knew about what was going on, but he did tell Itachi about the whole ordeal in case word somehow got back to his parents, which would not be a very good thing at all.

And speaking of Itachi, Sasuke let Hinata know the older male would be calling her sometime soon to ask her a few questions. He'd left out the details, making Hinata very curious about what Itachi could possibly want to talk to her about.

He'd also wished Hinata to be careful about what she was doing, meaning the possible abortion and drug rehab Hanabi was going to go through. If that kind of information got out, it would not be good if Hiashi got wind of it.

Either way, she would be seeing him sooner than later when he would be coming over. Sasuke had planned to come later in the day to study, but said he would tag along to the doctor so she would be able to talk to him about everything better.

Currently, Hinata was in the car waiting on Hanabi to come out of the house and she scratched her neck absently. It was Half moon which caught Hinata off her guard as she's not had a Half moon in a while and just had a Full moon.

The time lapse made it possible though, and so Hinata had to deal with it. Not that she minded as Half moon meant _alone time with Sasuke._

Hinata had left the younger girl inside, as she was recovering from morning sickness, while she went outside to the car where Neji was already waiting.

The male had offered to take them since Hinata had yet to go get her license and Sasuke was going to meet her at the doctor's office. Neji was going out for the day so he would not be able to take the two girls back home afterward.

Hanabi finally came through the door, dressed in her usual attire of dark colors and made it to the car.

The trip to the office was a fairly silent one, Hinata and Neji talking or asking Hanabi if she was alright. They went over a few things like the decisions that had been made and so on and what would most likely happen at the doctor's office.

Hanabi did not talk much, choosing to speak only when spoken to.

Hinata could understand that fully as she only had an inkling of an idea of how hard it must be for the younger girl going through what she was. She was on the outside looking in but she did have a good perception of it all. That, and she knew that Hanabi wanted to be saved from this crisis.

When Neji pulled up, they saw that Sasuke was already there, but he was not paying attention. Hinata got out and went to him as Neji walked inside with Hanabi.

"Hi there," Hinata said to the male through his window.

Sasuke looked up at her from the book he was reading; she noticed she'd startled him. "Hey," he replied calmly. "Didn't even know you were here yet. I came a little early to get in some reading."

Even though Sasuke did not look it, he was a bookworm out of this world when he chose to be.

Sasuke got out, books in hand, and locked the car before following Hinata inside.

"So what's going to happen now?" Hinata's mate asked her.

"I decided to let Hanabi choose what she wants," said Hinata. "She desperately wants the abortion and so if I make her keep the child, I think it would do more harm than good at this point. Rehab is not up for discussion though; it's a must."

Sasuke nodded. "Well you know your sister best," he told her.

Neji was sitting next to Hanabi when the couple got inside but got up when he saw them, coming their way.

"I already spoke to the receptionist so Hanabi should be seeing the doctor shortly," said Neji, after the greetings.

Hinata thanked her cousin and soon the brunet left, leaving the three in the waiting room.

Hanabi had her new phone but was not allowed the privilege listening to music as Hinata had banned the use of the headphones until she was done with her appointments for the day.

The internet service was also taken off and Hinata blocked all calls to and from Konohamaru—of course Hanabi had kicked up a fit at the time.

Sasuke was doing some more studying, and Hinata chose to read some notes from Kin's book that He had brought along.

o

"Hyuuga Hanabi."

Hinata looked up when her sister's name was called and nudged the girl. "It's time to go in," she said, getting Hanabi's attention as she was playing a game on the phone.

Looking at Sasuke, Hinata received a nod of support from him. She smiled, grateful he was there with her, and ushered her younger sister after Suzume, the nurse from the visit before, who was leading the way.

Takahiro sat at his desk on their arrival.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan, Hanabi-chan," the doctor said in his calm voice. He waited until they sat and addressed Hanabi after Hinata. "How are you doing today?"

Hanabi shrugged her shoulders. "I'm ok, Takahiro-sensei," she replied. Hinata was glad Hanabi remembered the talk she'd given her in the car on proper manners.

Takahiro immediately started writing his notes and got right into it. "I hope you've made some improvement since your last visit?" he asked.

"I think so," replied Hanabi.

Takahiro glanced at Hinata. "Has a decision been made where everything spoken about last time is concerned?"

"Hai, Takahiro-sensei," said Hinata. She looked at Hanabi to receive some sign of agreement from Hanabi. "Everything has been discussed and Hanabi will be terminating her pregnancy as well as going to rehab."

The doctor wrote as he spoke again.

"Hai, Hai. It seems as though you are very sure about this," he said. "I have made some calls before and so I only have to contact the counselor to begin the termination of the pregnancy as that has to happen before rehab begins."

He looked at Hanabi. "Do you have any plans for the day, Hanabi-chan?" he asked.

The young Hyuuga shook her head. "Iie."

The same question was addressed to Hinata, to which she said no as well, even though she had planned to spend some time with Sasuke.

"I will make an appointment for you right now then," said Takahiro.

With that, Takahiro took up the phone and dialed before speaking to the person on the other line. It only took a few minutes for the appointment with the psychologist. Another call was made and an appointment was set up for the abortion as well.

"So," the doctor began. "All plans have been made as an abortion should be made as soon as possible. The first counseling begins at one in the afternoon and can last an hour, two hours, or maybe three since this is the very first session."

He reached into a cardholder and sifted through to find the one he wanted, giving it to Hinata.

"Azumi-san, the psychiatrist, really knows what she is doing and I think she will definitely help Hanabi-chan. She will further make assessments to ensure I can go through with the procedure."

He then looked for another card. "I recommend this rehabilitation center for Hanabi," he said. "They have lots of programs to offer. Hanabi will have to be an inpatient until it is seen that she can return home. More details will be available to you at the appointment.

"Investigations on this situation have been taking place involving all students involved and Hanabi will be no different. A warrant has been made to search and confiscate any illegal or suspicious items in your home later today and can continue for around three days-"

Hinata was not expecting that. She would have to tell Neji to hide anything that could lead to her nature and their secrets as soon as possible.

Glancing at Hanabi, she saw the girl seemed to be highly nervous, though trying not to let it show. Hinata wondered what would be found when the search was completed.

"-will also have to be seen to be questioned soon, so you can see there's a lot to do."

Takahiro wheeled his chair so he was facing Hanabi directly. "This is going to be tough for you, Hanabi-chan, I know," he said, eyes shining with concern. "Demo, I can see you are a strong girl who just had a weak moment. I know you want to be helped and so I'll do everything to make sure that happens."

Hinata smiled, seeing the sincerity on Takahiro's face and hearing it in his voice.

Both Hanabi and Hinata stood and gave a short bow towards the doctor.

"Arigatou, Takahiro-sensei," said Hanabi.

"Hai," Hinata agreed. "Takahiro-sensei, Domo arigatou gozaimasu!" **_(Thank you so very much, Dr. Takahiro!)_**

* * *

Hinata and Hanabi left Takahiro's office and went back to the waiting room where Sasuke was seen leaning back in the couch with a book over his face.

Hinata went to him and gently touched him to get his attention.

"All done?" he asked her, blearily.

"Sorta," said Hinata. "Hanabi has an appointment for counseling at one."

Sasuke got up and the three went to his car.

Hinata read the directions to the office they were going to and found it was actually not far away.

Between giving directions to Sasuke, Hinata also made an effort to give her sister some as well but of a different nature.

"- and please just cooperate. I know it's going to be tough sitting there telling a stranger what's going on with you but it's for the better."

"Hai," Hanabi drawled as she looked through the tinted rolled up glass.

"A little wind won't kill you either," said Hinata.

"It will ruin my hair," the younger girl replied.

Hinata's phone rang just then and looking at the ID, she saw it was Neji.

"Moshi moshi?"

_"Hey. I just called to see if everything is going ok," said Neji._

"Hai," Hinata said. "So far everything is going fine. The doctor actually just set up appointments for Hanabi and we're on our way to the first one now with the counselor."

_"Ok. About your text earlier-"_

"Hai! The doctor said there's a warrant for a search at our house," said Hinata, glad Neji had brought up the subject. "I know they will search Hanabi's room mostly but they will be doing a thorough search apparently and I don't want any questions being asked about you-know-what."

_"I understand that," said Neji. __"I'm on my way home now as I'm speaking to you. I'll put everything in the vault."_

"Thank you, Neji and I'm so sorry for ruining your day," said Hinata. She was not sure what he had planned but, seeing as he rarely went out, Hinata felt bad about interrupting him.

_"It's fine. I had to leave TenTen and Lee, as I didn't want them knowing about your situation, but I let them know I would be back soon."_

There was the answer to her question; her cousin had decided to spend the day with his best friends.

Hinata paused a second to think about the last time she did the same with her friends and promised to do something about it.

The two talked for a little while longer and then hung up shortly after.

"I think I'm going to call Itachi and let him know to be on the alert," said Sasuke. "Naruto is already suspected to be involved in this whole thing because he is close with Konohamaru."

"That's a good idea," said Hinata.

"And speaking of Itachi, has he contacted you yet?" asked Sasuke lightly. It was the tone of his voice that clearly made whatever Itachi wanted peak Hinata's interest.

"What does he want to speak to me about?" Hinata asked, hoping Sasuke would give her some idea as he'd left out the details earlier that morning on the phone.

Sasuke smirked. "Let's just say that it'll be a bit of a shock when you hear from him," he said.

Hinata could tell her mate did not want to say too much because Hanabi was in the car so she dropped the subject.

Suddenly, Hinata's neck itched, reminding her of half moon and she caught Sasuke glancing her way with a knowing look.

Hinata blushed, peering through the window at the passing scenery from Sasuke's very obvious body language only she was able to read and figured not much studying was going to occur later.

Soon after, Sasuke pulled into the small parking lot. Everyone got out and made their way into the mint green building.

Sasuke went to sit as Hinata and Hanabi went to the receptionist at the front desk.

After giving some information, the receptionist took a sheet of paper from a pile and attached it to a clipboard, giving it to Hinata.

"This is for Hanabi to fill out, though I think she may need some help from you," the kind-voiced woman informed. "It's a short form to fill out for new patients of Yamashita-san."

Hinata in turn gave the clipboard to Hanabi and they both walked over to Sasuke, who was, once again, reading and now taking down notes of his own.

Hanabi filled out the basics such as her name, age, and address and Hinata helped her with other questions involving a little of her medical history and other details.

The younger Hyuuga then carried the completed sheet back to the receptionist, who faxed it away.

Hinata watched Hanabi as they waited, seeing the girl looking around, reading the charts on the walls but shortly after that, Hanabi's name was called and Hinata looked to the side catching Hanabi's eyes.

"I'm not allowed to go in with you but I'll be right out here," said Hinata.

Hanabi nodded and stood, walking slowly down the hall, lead by colorful arrows.

Hinata sighed tiredly when her younger sister was out of sight. "I can just imagine that Hanabi is absolutely scared of what's going on," said Hinata. "It's amazing how level-headed she appears to be sometimes."

"That's in her nature," Sasuke commented as he looked up from his notes. "Just trust that she's doing as well as she appears to be."

With another sigh, Hinata greed with her mate and took up the book he'd brought along that she had been reading earlier.

It was mortifying the amount of work both she and Sasuke missed and she could understand why he was hitting the books as he was.

Hinata was more laid back, she assumed; just doing enough to pass and that was it. It was one of the reasons her father got so angry in the past, since both Neji and Hanabi were acing everything.

Not that she did not have the ability to do so. Hinata just assumed she was more or less just lazy.

Hinata stared at the book, flipping through pages and pages of work, the words jumping off the paper and embedding themselves in her memory. Hinata even found herself correcting any grammatical errors and the like while reading.

Soon, she was on to another book and then another.

"You're going through those books way too fast to be really studying," Sasuke said.

Hinata pouted. "I know," she told her mate. "I'm just a little restless thinking about Hanabi."

Sasuke nodded. "There's no need to worry so much. We both know Hanabi wants this just as much as we do and she's definitely getting the help she needs."

Hinata scratched her neck once more and Sasuke caught the action.

"If you don't stop provoking me I'll have to kidnap you for awhile until Hanabi comes out of there," he said with a smirk.

Hinata blushed coyly. "Really now?" she asked him. "I didn't do it on purpose, you know."

"But your smell is killing me when you scratch your neck," Sasuke told her.

They were both speaking softly so as to not allow the receptionist to hear.

Hinata leaned her head to the side to stretch her neck, running her fingers from the base of her ear to her collarbone and grinned when she saw Sasuke engrossed in the movement.

"Ahh so tired," Hinata sighed dramatically but it ended in a gasp as Sasuke suddenly stood up and grabbed her hand.

With a short word to the receptionist, who barely noticed, Sasuke almost ran to the exit, dragging her with him outside.

Hinata's entire face turned red when she realized they were going back to the car.

ooo

"You're not serious?" Hinata asked when Sasuke shoved the key home to open the door, opened the back door, and pushed her in the back seat, following. "I was only teasing you!"

Sasuke did not say anything as he reached over the seat to turn on the car and then the air condition.

Hinata's blood pumped faster with the predatory gaze Sasuke gave her, his eyes red, and scratched unconsciously which seemed to trigger the need in her mate.

Sasuke lunged, capturing Hinata's lips with his own and she gave in, letting her mate take over. He grasped her neck, pressing his thumbs over her pulse as it sped up from the heat that enflamed her body.

Hinata could feel the blood pulsing through her lips and in turn could feel Sasuke's own. He bit down, tearing the thin and fragile skin of her lips and Hinata gasped at the brief pain before it was drowned by the taste of blood.

In her thirst, Hinata's mark appeared and so did Sasuke's as she bit Sasuke's lips in return, savoring the metallic taste.

They engaged in a frenzied state, licking and nipping at each other's lips. Hinata could feel the thirst absolutely radiating from Sasuke and it enflamed her own.

Her mate kissed his way downward, completely skipping her neck for the moment, but nipping and gliding his tongue over her skin, careful not to leave marks in obvious places.

Sasuke kissed his way down Hinata's arm, making her snicker softly between her passionate sighs until he surprised her by sinking his edged teeth into her wrist.

Raising himself to let her see him take her wrist was heavenly. Watching the way he sucked, kissed and licked the punctured area gave her goose bumps every time. Sasuke offered Hinata his own wrist and moved her hand over his clothed erection, to which she gladly accepted both, taking his wrist and massaging him through his jeans.

Hinata loved the feeling of flesh being seared beneath her teeth and gave in to it, savoring the moment. She suckled as he did, the feeling of giving and taking feeling a lot more intimate that the true act of love making at the moment, but it seemed Sasuke had just that on his mind as he leaned his weight over her.

Her wrist was licked and kissed, sealing the bruised skin that had been torn and Hinata did the same.

The back of the sports car was cramped, making Sasuke's body feel as though it was a part of her. She could feel every breath he took in his lungs as she took her own, feel their heartbeats beat in synchronized harmony as he fit himself against her perfectly when she raised her legs to wrap around his clothed hips; the skirt she wore riding up, revealing her creamy, smooth thighs.

Sasuke held himself up to quickly remove his shirt, revealing his gift of the dog tags, and pull Hinata's own over her head, leaving him half-naked and Hinata with her bra until Sasuke reached around her back to unclip the flimsy clasp with one hand.

"You're getting better at undoing these I see," Hinata panted as she ran her fingers along his firm chest and chiseled abs.

Sasuke smirked. "Of course," he said arrogantly, between his ragged breaths, fingering his cross that was lying between her breasts. "I'm a fast learner."

With that, he leaned in to kiss Hinata once more, his hand wandering over her bare chest then easily flipped their positions in one fluid motion. He then perched her higher so her breasts and cross were swinging freely before him and took one of the soft globes into his mouth, suckling as he tweaked the nipple of the other.

Hinata arched as she felt him bite her, kneading the aching flesh with his lips as he sucked at licked at the wound, healing it.

Sasuke then moved her down onto his clothed length that was pulsing beneath her. Hinata pressed herself closer, moaning at the rough material rubbing against her, yet able to feel Sasuke throbbing on her, in tuned to her pulsating mound.

Hinata moved closer to Sasuke, arching her neck against his opened mouth. He pinched her pulse with his teeth, nearly driving Hinata insane. His teeth grazed the flesh harder, teasingly as though about to break the skin but just short of applying enough pressure to do so.

"_Bite me," Hinata whispered, her voice feral with lust._

Sasuke growled against her neck, the vibration making Hinata whimper in need and did as was asked.

"Fierce today, aren't we?" Sasuke mouthed against her neck, before he tore into her flesh, the skin yielding as he punctured it, seeming to demolish her vein.

He suckled harshly on the wound, causing Hinata to almost lose her mind from the pleasure of it all and then he was closing it with his tongue.

"You know Half-Moon is about me pleasing you," whispered Sasuke with a light chuckle. "You didn't have to ask me to bite you, Hina."

He gripped Hinata's hips, lifting the skirt even higher, when he seemed to have an idea.

"Kami, I love skirts," Sasuke said, roving one of his hands lower past her skirt and under the shorts to her underwear, slipping his fingers past her wet folds.

Hinata hummed in agreement and ground herself on her mate's fingers as they kissed almost feverishly, the heat of the moment clashing with the cold air from the vents making them shiver.

Hinata then took that moment to sink her sharp teeth into her mate's shoulder. She loved taking Sasuke's blood; it was so rich and thick and slid smoothly down her throat.

She drank with relish as Sasuke moaned at the feeling of nearly being drained until Hinata heard voices outside.

Hinata's head whipped around when she saw a group of people pass by as they chatted loudly and her face went up in flames forgetting all about being in the middle of being intimate with her mate.

"Kami, Sasuke!" she said as the male grasped her waist with one hand to pull her back down to him as the other continued its work at her center. Hinata's body gave a tremor with the impending peak as he tweaked her bundle of nerves expertly. She put her hands on his shoulders but to gently push. "Iie we can do this _here!"_

"Why not?" asked Sasuke, his voice low and dripping with what he wanted. "The windows are heavily tinted; no one can see us."

"Demo, it feels weird here in broad daylight in the back of your car," Hinata whined.

Don't get it wrong, Hinata wanted to quench her thirst just as much as Sasuke but she didn't feel it was the right place.

The blood dribbled from Sasuke's shoulder and Hinata quickly leaned over to close the gash with her tongue.

Sasuke pouted. "Fine," he said, his voice gravelly. "Just a couple more bites for now."

Hinata thought that was an excellent idea, as she felt her mark appear again in her thirst.

ooo

About an hour passed after that and Hinata and Sasuke were in the waiting room once again when Hanabi walked towards them, followed by the counselor.

Hinata stood to greet the woman and engaged in a gentle handshake. The older woman then asked Hinata to step a little to the side out of earshot of Hanabi and Sasuke.

"Ohayo, my name is Yamashita Azumi," the woman said. She was very plain, no makeup, save for a little lipstick and her auburn hair was pulled into a high bun. "You can call me Azumi-san or sensei."

"Ohayo, Azumi-san," said Hinata with a smile to answer Azumi's own. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata."

Hinata glanced down to her mate, who was once again seen with the book over his face. She knew he couldn't be sleeping, of course, and said slightly embarrassed, "That's my boyfriend, Uchiha Sasuke."

She guessed he didn't want to get involved in anything.

Azumi smiled knowingly. "Hai, studying takes up a lot of energy, it seems at times but I'm pleased to meet you.

"This first session with Hanabi-chan showed a little progress and this is just the beginning so I would have to say she's really putting the effort into getting better. Most teenagers who come in just clam up completely. Also, it's apparent she's not used any drugs today as she seemed very tense.

"Hanabi-chan was quiet but spoke when spoken to even though she was extremely vague with everything. I put it down to the fact that this is the first session and so she may not feel comfortable with me yet, but I can say she is serious about having the abortion. I discussed other options she might want to take, such as adoption and the like, but Hanabi-chan is set on not having the child."

Hinata agreed. "Hai, Hanabi had rough time even opening up to me," she said. "And she told me from the start she prefers not to put a child through feeling unwanted by its parents."

"I will have her back on Monday afternoon after school, if that is fine with you," Azumi suggested.

"I'll be sure to bring her," said Hinata. "Arigatou gozaimasu."

"I will have Yasu-san, the receptionist, call to remind you and it's no problem at all, my dear child," said Azumi. "This is not just a job to me. It's my passion to help others."

Hinata smiled at the kind words and Azumi said her farewells going back to her office.

She did not have to get Sasuke's attention for he sat up and gathered his books as soon as the woman left and stood.

The three left the office after Hinata had made the appointment official with Yasu and were now on their way home.

"So how did the session go?" Hinata asked Hanabi.

"It was fine," the younger girl replied shortly. Her voice was clipped as though on edge.

"Come now," said Hinata. "I doubt you just sat in there for two hours and it was 'fine' without anything to talk about."

Hanabi was quiet for a while to the point where Hinata thought the girl was not going to say anything.

Finally, she spoke.

"She was nosy."

Hinata laughed. "Azumi-san's job is to be nosy, Hanabi," she said to her sister.

"I guess," Hanabi sighed. "Demo… she wasn't annoying or anything so I suppose she isn't bad or whatever."

Hinata smiled and, glancing across at Sasuke, she saw he was smiling also.

The road to recovery was ahead.

* * *

Sasuke dropped Hinata and Hanabi at home, Hinata seeing that Neji's car was not outside and so he was still out with his friends.

Sasuke left right after dropping them off, stating he would be back in a while, as he wanted to go home and freshen up after being out for the day.

Hinata agreed whole-heartedly for although it was not that late or anything, it felt as though they'd had a full day of activity.

Hanabi went straight to her room as soon as they got home stating she was very tired, her face shiny with sweat and Hinata let her.

Hinata looked around the house, wondering if anything looked out of place since it had been mentioned that the police were coming to run a search.

As she looked around, she did notice some things looked a little difficult, but not noticeably and put it down the maids, who must have seen to cleaning up afterward.

Hinata walked around the house to check on everything and found an opened letter addressed to the guardian of Hanabi and, unfolding the letter, she saw it was from the police department. She figured Neji had read it before anything had taken place.

It was a very simple one, explaining the routine of the search and attached was the warrant.

Hinata took the letter with her upstairs to her room and placed it on the dresser and then headed for the bathroom to have a nice long bath.

Afterwards, Hinata came out and decided to go online for a while, seeing as she had not done so in awhile.

Realizing she'd not gone on many of the sites she usually frequented, Hinata saw she had a lot of catching up to do on top of schoolwork.

The ring of her cell phone caught Hinata's attention while she was reading up on some new chapters of one of her favorite manga and, picking it up, she saw an unfamiliar number.

"Moshi moshi?"

_"Hinata, this is Itachi. Are you busy?"_

Hinata remembered Sasuke had told her Itachi had wanted to speak to her about something.

"Hai, Sasuke mentioned you had been wanting to speak to me," said Hinata. "And it's fine."

_"Well yes," Itachi said. __"I don't like the idea of speaking over the phone. Is it alright if I come over to speak to you in person?"_

"Sasuke is coming over soon," said Hinata. "Demo, it should be okay."

_"Hai, Sasuke is at home right now and I asked him for a couple minutes of out his time with you," said Itachi._

"Sure, come over then," Hinata said.

They both hung up and Hinata rushed to put on something a little more appropriate than the vest and underwear she was wearing.

Before she could do so, the doorbell was heard and Hinata quickly slipped on a dress. She assumed he must have transported himself to the house.

Quickly biting her wrist and then her tongue, knowing it was half moon and her thirst was high, Hinata made her way down the stairs and opened the door, inviting Itachi inside.

"Sasuke will be here shortly," said Itachi after his greeting. "So I'll be as quick as possible."

Hinata led Itachi into the living room and they both sat on a couch.

"So what's up?" Hinata asked the man.

"I want to pursue a friend of yours," Itachi said simply. "Her name is Yamanaka Ino and I'm told she is your best friend."

Hinata sat there in shock at what Itachi had just said. Was he seriously interested in Ino? Hinata knew for a fact her best friend had the biggest crush on her mate's older brother but what would this mean now?

"I know you are probably worried about the girl," said Itachi. "But I would not hurt a possible mate."

Hinata nodded, believing his words. "What do you want from me then?" she asked him.

"I would like to know more about her," Itachi answered. "I have watched her from far but I've not approached her yet as it is not like me to be attracted to someone so young in age."

"I'm Ino's age," said Hinata teasingly.

"Hai," Itachi agreed. "I may become involved with someone younger but not as a potential mate as I've never found someone who could fill in my personal taste as it is quite strange."

"Hai," said Hinata.

Hmm what did she know about Ino…

"Well I know almost everything there is to know about Ino, as she's my best friend," Hinata told Itachi. "I know what she likes to eat, her favorite color and that she happens to have an interest in you as well."

Itachi's eyes widened with surprise and then the expression was replaced with a smirk. "Is that so?" he asked. "That makes everything so much easier."

"Hai," Hinata confirmed. "So what would you like to know?"

Itachi thought for a minute before he asked.

"What does she think of me?"

Hinata knew Ino thought Itachi was the sexiest guy alive and giggled. "She thinks very highly of you," Hinata replied.

The questions rolled on, Hinata answering as truthfully as possible until Itachi asked, "Is she a virgin?"

Hinata's face colored comically at the question and she started to stammer but she was saved by the doorbell.

"T-that must be Sasuke," said Hinata quickly as she stood.

Itachi stood as well. "I'm sorry I asked such a personal question but I like to know these things," he said. "I don't want to scare her away by thinking I'm a pervert so I figured to ask you."

Hinata smiled. "I'm glad you are showing such an interest in Ino but trust me, Ino is more open-minded than I am and so I don't think she would mind you asking her," Hinata told him and then whispered. "Just not those kinds of personal questions yet."

Itachi touched his chin in thought and then gave a rare smile. "Arigatou," he told her. "I will talk to you over the phone or online some other time and give you word before I think about approaching the girl."

Itachi and Hinata walked to the door to see Sasuke standing there on the threshold, books in hand.

"I hope you were not asking Hinata any embarrassing questions," said Sasuke suspiciously and Hinata thought maybe her face was still flushed.

"Not at all," said Hinata with a weak laugh. She turned to Itachi. "I will talk to you later," she said.

"Goodbye," said Itachi. "And try not to let any _activities get out of hand as it's half moon." And with that, he disappeared in a swirl of black feathers after adding, "I know you don't want a little Sasuke or Hinata running around right now."_

Sasuke turned his attention to Hinata, trying to ignore the teasing of his older brother but he was blushing.

"Shall we go upstairs?" he asked.

Hinata led the way to her room, immediately taking her dress off.

"If you walk around like that I doubt we are going to get any studying done," said Sasuke.

Hinata giggled and swayed her hips enticingly. "Oh please. You've seen me in much less just this afternoon."

"And even less when we're done studying here," Sasuke added.

Hinata went over to the bed where Sasuke was sitting and took up a book and her notebook and pen. "Where are we starting?"

Sasuke showed her the latest notes that were taken by Sai. "These. I figure we study some new stuff they did in math since that's two periods of the day and continue from there."

Hinata sighed. How she hated math, even though she was better at it now.

A thought suddenly came to her.

"Is Itachi really looking into going after Ino?" she asked her mate.

Sasuke actually laughed at the question. "You bet he is," he said. "Itachi is serious about this."

"Do you think I should tell her about it?" asked Hinata.

"Iie, we shouldn't pry any further than Itachi wants us to," Sasuke told her. "He just wanted a little information on how he should go about getting to know Ino, so I wouldn't do anything knowing he's the epitome of being territorial and possessive; that is unless he asks."

Sasuke and Hinata continued writing for a brief moment until he looked Hinata's way. "How do you think Ino will handle it?" he asked.

Hinata grinned. "Ino has had a crush on Itachi for some time now and I think she'll be thrilled, quite honestly," Hinata replied. "Demo… I don't want to get my hopes up as I know how fickle Ino can be."

"One thing for sure is Itachi is going to go for this so we'll just have to see what happens," Sasuke said.

Hinata completely agreed with her mate and they both got back to work when something else came to Hinata's mind.

"I wonder what Neji is doing?" she thought aloud.

Sasuke snorted. "Nani? You miss him?"

Hinata smiled at the jealousy that started to surface. "Hai I miss him very much."

"Sure you do, since you don't have anyone here to keep you company," Sasuke said sarcastically, making sure to look as though he was focusing completely on the work he was doing.

"Sasuke, you should know there's no reason to be jealous of my cousin," said Hinata.

"You're my mate and I love you more than life."

Hinata felt Sasuke's heart jolt at the words as her own did the same. She'd never spoken those words before, loving Sasuke more than she did her own existence.

The tension in the air grew, Hinata feeling Sasuke's pulse quicken and her own answer.

Sasuke stared at her for a long time before saying anything. Then his eyes changed and he growled two words as he leapt from his chair and hoisted Hinata from hers.

"Bed. _Now."_

Hinata's blood simmered from the raw and untamed tone Sasuke used, the intensity of his lust and her hunger settling over her as Sasuke started strip them both.

o

Hinata's naked body hummed in the aftermath of what had happened between her and Sasuke.

Her limbs were entangled in Sasuke's own as she lay across him. She caressed his bare chest, tracing her fingertips along the smooth, firm planes as Sasuke was lightly running his fingers through her hair.

There was a knock on her door and Hinata jumped up, grabbing the sheets to cover herself and Sasuke.

The door started to move but Hinata almost yelled. "D-don't open the door!"

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Neji," came her older cousin's voice. He sounded a little uncomfortable. "Ano…I saw Sasuke's car outside."

Sasuke was about to say something, but Hinata covered his mouth, to which he started to bite and lick at; he was in a very playful mood all day.

Struggling to ignore what her mate was doing as he nicked her fingers she answered. "Hai, Sasuke is with me studying."

"Ok, I'll be in my room then," said Neji and his footsteps could be heard as he walked away.

Hinata sighed as she rolled over to straddle Sasuke's waist.

"It's getting late," she told him.

Sasuke leaned up to capture her lips. "Hai." He flipped them so he was resting on his arms over her. Demo I am going to sleep over next weekend, if that's okay with you."

Hinata smiled up at him. "Of course it's okay," she said, bringing him closer for a kiss. "I can't wait."

Getting up, both of them went to the bathroom to have a shower and that took up more time than usual, thanks to Sasuke.

When Hinata and Sasuke were done, they both dressed and Hinata walked him to his car, helping him load the books in the backseat.

Sasuke got in and started the Mustang, the engine roaring to life and Sasuke revving and ready to go.

"I haven't forgotten about our driving lessons," he told her.

"I almost did," Hinata said with a laugh. "It's about time I got my license."

"I would have to agree as that race is still on as soon as you get it," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"You know I'll win," said Hinata. She leaned to place a quick peck on his cheek and closed his door. "Talk to you soon."

Sasuke shifted the gear into reverse and backed out of the driveway. On his way forward, Hinata blew him a kiss and he pretended to catch it before driving away with an audible chuckle.

Hinata made her way back into the house and to her room. She figured Neji was too embarrassed now about what happened to come see her and so she opted to just speak to him online.

**Candyapple_7: hey there**

**Screw_64: hey**

**Candyapple_7: so distant..**

**Screw_64: I prefer not to come lie where u and ur mate were exchanging blood and Kami knows wat**

**Candyapple_7: yea I kinda guessed that lol! So how was ur day out?**

**Screw_64: it was okay. After I met with TenTen and Lee again, we were just driving around and stuff until Lee had to go**

**Candyapple_7: ahh enjoyed the alone time with TenTen? ;p**

There was a delay in the time Neji took to reply, causing Hinata to grin.

She decided to talk to Ino while she was waiting.

**Candyapple_7: hi!**

**Poolsofblue_69: hi hina!**

Hinata knew she could not give any hints to what was going on with Itachi wanting to get to know her best friend so she kept a light and breezy conversation until Neji replied.

**Screw_64: I guess**

**Candyapple_7: hmm u can tell me**

**Screw_64: there's not much to tell. We drove around the country a little, parked out by a park and stuff**

**Candyapple_7: kk**

Hinata didn't probe any further, knowing Neji was a little shy when it came to TenTen.

**Candyapple_7: I'm gonna go to bed now. Long day**

**Screw_64: ok**

**Candyapple_7: want me 2 come 2 ur room?**

**Screw_64: sure**

Hinata got up after shutting down her laptop and left for Neji's room.

Suddenly, Hinata heard a scream from Hanabi's room and she rushed to see what the problem was, only to see Hanabi in tears.

"It's gone!" the girl wept. "It's all gone! I've been searching the house for hours now, wondering if I misplaced it! And my bedroom! Someone's been in here digging around!"

Hinata walked past her sister into her bedroom and saw that, indeed the room was in disarray. There were obvious signs of the maids cleaning up afterward but it had all gone in vain for Hanabi had ransacked the room once more.

Then what Hanabi had said came to the forefront of Hinata's thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked and then cleared up the question, even though she had a good idea what Hanabi was talking about. "What is gone?"

"All my shit is missing!"

Hinata gave Hanabi a stern look. "Pardon me?" Hinata asked deliberately.

Hanabi shifted this way and that nervously, as though not wanting to say anything.

"My… stuff is gone," she said softly after catching herself.

Hinata knew that Hanabi had to be hiding the drugs in her room and anywhere else she assumed no one would look.

Hinata also knew that this was a good thing the drugs had been found and taken away.

Taking a couple more steps, Hinata hugged her sister. "Hai, it's gone," whispered Hinata. "This is for the best and the only way you'll get better."

Hanabi shook her head. "But what am I supposed to do now?" she asked, almost hysterically. "I can't stop it. It's the only company I have. I need it!"

Hinata shushed the girl who seemed so small and frail in her arms as she started to cry even more, smoothing her hair.

"You have all the company you need in me," Hinata told her.

Hanabi shook her head again. "Iie, you don't understand! I tried to stop before and I freaked out! You weren't here when it happened but Neji was about to call Otou-san. It felt as though I was on fire and everything in me hurt!"

"We'll just find something to keep your mind off of it, ok?" she said. "If it gets too much for you to handle I'll have no choice but to call the doctor and have you admitted to rehab early."

Hanabi began to cry even harder.

Neji came in the room just then, wondering what was going on when he saw Hanabi sobbing pitifully and Hinata trying to console her.

Hinata filled in Neji quickly and he came and embraced them both.

"Just one more fix," Hanabi cried. "I promise I can quit it after!"

"Iie, Hanabi," said Hinata, tears now running down her cheeks. She knew it was the addiction talking.

"Onegai!" Hanabi continued, her body racked with the sobs. "Just a little bit more, I can't take it. I haven't had any for the day!"

Hinata felt tears rim her eyes at the anguish her sister was going through.

Her pale eyes found Neji's and Hinata could tell that he was just as worried as she was.

Continuing to shush the younger girl, Hinata allowed Neji to take them to his room and onto his bed.

He rolled the covers back and Hinata helped tuck Hanabi in as she got under as well, Neji got in next to Hanabi.

"We'll help you get through this, Hanabi," said Neji. He wrapped his arms around his younger cousin and Hinata followed embracing her sister.

Hanabi's crying quieted down a little, but her breathing was still labored, Hinata figured Hanabi must have been going through a panic attack.

Hinata hugged her sister tightly. "It's ok," she whispered. "We're here, Imouto."

"Ari-gatou," Hanabi said, hiccupping on the word.

Hinata and Neji waited until Hanabi fell asleep before going to sleep themselves, only to be woken often by nightmares the girl was having. She screamed she couldn't see at times, or thought there were insects crawling over her.

Hinata and Neji were there every time Hanabi woke up in distress, barely able to breathe, comforting the child.

They all were now entering the tunnel to healing.

The light was not seen yet, the way dark and foreboding but as Hinata and Neji held her little sister, Hinata knew it would not be long until Hanabi would be okay.

* * *

**_So, this is how this chapter ends. I actually planned the usual 1500-2500 word rule but when I got there, I still had so much more to write. I set a goal on a sticky and I had to constantly change it from "Write a new chappie for HtV, 1500-2500wrds__" moving up until I got to 7500 which is where I decided to stop, as it was really late and still went past that goal. I really hope you guys like the chapter because I certainly enjoyed writing it. It's been quite a while since I last wrote a lime or lemon so I gave you guys a nice citrusy taste lol!_**

**_I feel as though I'm forgetting something…_**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime___, A Happy Ending__, or _Following the Sun_______, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**


	54. Getting Back to The Old Grind

**_Hey there readers! I hope you guys are well and ready to read another chapter. I've been sick last week and then my working hours changed which has me very upset right now but hey, that's life. Hmm… not much to say other than that but if there is, you'll know in the ending A/N which will probably be long after this one was written hehe._**

**_Excuse any errors and formatting issues, and R&R‼!_**

* * *

**Chapter 54: Getting Back to The Old Grind**

Monday was here and Sasuke was almost dreading going back to school.

There was something about getting out of a routine that made you never want to do it again, even though you know you had to and that was how Sasuke felt at the moment.

He could hear throughout the house the sounds of everyone getting up and preparing to leave for school, even Naruto, who was now into the waking up at dawn habit.

Sasuke took his wrist as he went to the bathroom to have a long bath and freshen up and then went about throwing on his white and red uniform and socks; his shoes were put by the door with everyone else's by the maids.

Sasuke then went downstairs to see the others having their breakfast of blood and saw Naruto was still a little tentative as he was sipping very slowly.

"What's your problem?" asked Sasuke.

"I can still remember the pig's blood," Naruto said grimacing. "It's like remembering the taste of something absolutely rotten even though you may have a feast in front of you."

Karin laughed at her mate. "Naruto can't get rid of the feeling the pig's blood gave him," she said. "Itachi put it down to the fact that he was wholly human, unlike the rest of us."

Sasuke sat at the table as well. "I can imagine."

"Did the notes we let you borrow help?" asked Kin.

"Hai," Sasuke replied. "They were great but a couple days can't get you on track again."

"Do you suppose you'll get some kind of makeup test though?" the brunette asked him.

Sai answered for him. "Of course. This isn't a week of not being at school, it's two months."

Everyone at the table agreed.

"I have a feeling this is really going to suck," Sasuke said.

"Iie, it's not," came Itachi's voice. He now walked down the stairs to the kitchen, surprising Sasuke as the younger brother was accustomed to almost never seeing Itachi even though they lived in the same house. "You're not dull so I expect you'll catch up in no time."

Sasuke looked away, feeling a frown on his face. He hated when Itachi spoke to him like that.

o

Soon enough, it was time to head off to school and everyone hopped in the cars.

The drive there was fine until they approached the building and suddenly, there was a sudden burst of something animalistic from Itachi.

Sasuke knew that Ino must be at school and that was why Itachi's significant predatory aura had kicked in.

He could still remember when Itachi had first learned of Hinata, the forbidden Hyuuga from the Pureblood Hitomi clan, and the way the school and house felt when she was around. Even Naruto had felt the difference and he was human.

All he could think about was the fact that Ino had better be ready.

Sasuke pulled up in the parking lot next to the others and got out, heading for Itachi.

"Do you have to be like that?" he asked his older brother.

"Dense Otouto," Itachi started. "This is not something I can help. I know what I want and by nature, my instincts take over. You wouldn't understand as you were not a vampire when you were seeking out Hinata from under Naruto."

Sasuke's eyes widened with Itachi's statement and looked around quickly to see if Naruto was close by.

"Don't say those kinds of things," Sasuke hissed. "I was attracted Hinata but I did nothing to end Naruto and Hinata's relationship; Naruto did that on his own."

"Did what?"

Naruto slung his arm over Sasuke's shoulder, curiosity written all over his face.

"Managed to become a vampire without dying," Sasuke said, shoving Naruto off him as his thirst reacted.

Naruto grinned. "Hai!"

"Let's get inside, the sun is coming from behind the clouds," said Itachi.

The three made it inside with Itachi going his way, Naruto and Sasuke heading to their class. Sai and the others were ahead of them.

When he got there, it was to see Ino was indeed there already, arguing with Sakura as usual. And it seemed for once Hinata and Neji had gotten to school earlier than usual.

He could see his mate trying to calm her best friend down and smiled. It seemed some things never changed.

Hinata glanced at Sasuke briefly, giving an apologetic look for not coming to speak with him and turned to hold her blonde haired friend back who looked about ready to strangle Sakura for a particularly nasty insult.

Sasuke made his way to the back of the class to talk to Gaara, who appeared to be doing some last minute homework, as he assessed the classroom.

Shikamaru was currently taking a nap, Neji was now talking to TenTen, and Naruto was, surprisingly, not trying to bribe Chouji for some of his chips but with Karin and the inseparable Sai and Kin were together.

His other classmates were just scattered around the room, outside, or had not arrived yet.

Sasuke sat next to the redhead, who said nothing until completing the question he was doing.

Gaara looked up. "Welcome back," he said.

"Arigatou," Sasuke said gratefully. There was movement from Shikamaru just then.

"What happened with you and Hinata?" the lazy brunet asked with a yawn. "Most of us thought you two had run away together or something."

"Iie, we went two completely different places," Sasuke lied.

"And you're not all over Hinata after not seeing her for two months?" asked Gaara.

"Everyone isn't hotlips over there," Shikamaru said, jerking his head in the direction of Naruto and Karin who were kissing as though no one else was in the room.

"Hai," came Kiba's voice loudly, he'd just arrived. "I don't know what happened to him, but Naruto's like an animal!"

Naruto heard Kiba from his desk and quickly shot him the finger before adding. "You better not be talking about me, Mutt!"

Kiba stuck his tongue out at the blond. "Hai, and his hearing seemed to have improved too," Kiba whispered.

Kiba asked the question everyone seemed to be dying to know and that was where he was hiding for the past two months.

Sasuke tried to act as cool as possible and not give out many details, as he was not exactly sure what Itachi had told the principle and his homeroom sensei.

Everyone just thought he and Hinata were super lucky to miss school for so long but he quickly corrected them with the fact that he had to catch up as soon as possible which would turn out to be double and triple the workload.

o

Before Sasuke knew it, the bell was ringing but everyone just stayed where they were, knowing Kakashi-sensei was one to always be late with a less-than-believable excuse.

As predicted, the silver-haired man waltzed through the door around twenty minutes later and just before the bell for first class began.

Prank free, Kakashi sat at his desk and took roll call, pausing at Sasuke's name.

"I'd like for you to see me after, Sasuke," Kakashi-sensei told him.

The man continued and then went on to the girls, informing Hinata she would also need to stay afterwards.

The bell rang for classes to begin just before Kakashi finished and so everyone got up to leave, except Sasuke and his mate.

Kakashi stood up and proceeded to rest his bum at the edge of the desk, hand rested on his thigh as he addressed them both.

"You two should know the reason I asked you to stay behind," Kakashi began. He didn't wait for them to answer however.

"Both of you have been out of school for two months and even though the school has received letters on your behalf, you still have a lot of catching up to do."

Sasuke knew this and so did Hinata. Both nodded in understanding.

Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Great that you know," he said. "Since we were given the notice for the both of you in advance, all of the teachers formulated a way to help you recover what you had lost but this was only for the month stated on each of your letters.

"Therefore, seeing as both Itachi-kun and Hiashi-san let us know you were back in Konoha and would be back to school first thing today, we were able to start planning methods right away for you two.

Sasuke and Hinata took all this information in, Sasuke already knowing what the man was going to say.

"Tutoring after school and makeup tests will be effective starting tomorrow," said Kakashi, he give them both a slip of paper and, glancing at it, Sasuke saw it was a time table for after school sessions. "There will be some extra homework and assignments because of this, but it will get you two on track in no time."

Sasuke saw and felt Hinata cringe. The girl hated anything to do with homework and now it was going to be doubled.

The sensei seemed to read Sasuke's mind. "I know you don't like homework, as you've skipped doing it many times in the past, Hinata," he said. "But I believe you want to pass."

"Hai, sensei," said Hinata unenthusiastically.

* * *

ooo

Hinata and Sasuke were then excused to go to their class after Kakashi gave them both a late note.

Hinata was currently in a bad mood, which did not happen regularly. She hated the fact that she would have to be doing so much work, even though she knew it was necessary.

"We should have gone to the Hitomi clan during the vacation," Sasuke said, mirth in his voice.

"I honestly couldn't agree more," Hinata said. The girl then sighed. "But it's been done and I'm glad I went there."

Making their way to the lockers, Hinata and Sasuke took their books out and then made walked among the late comers to their class.

When they arrived, Asuma stopped talking to address them both after they gave him the late note.

"Ohayo, Sasuke and Hinata," the bearded man greeted. He went over to his desk to take two small stacks of papers and gave them one each.

"These are notes and exercises for you to go over and practice and extra classes with me will be starting from Thursday, as I'm sure you may already know from your homeroom teacher."

With that, Hinata and Sasuke went to their seats and class continued.

Hinata listened to what Asuma was saying but she didn't understand one thing the man had said. It felt as though he was speaking a language from outer space, nothing remotely sounding like anything she had ever heard.

Looking at her mate, she saw he was going through the handout Asuma had given them and decided to do the same. Unfortunately, all Hinata saw were letters and numbers that made no sense to her and she gave up.

Hinata took out a pencil and set to work pretending to do something constructive while she doodled at the edge of the paper, as was a habit of hers.

o

By the time class were finished and it was time for lunch, Hinata was bored out of her mind and was looking forward to getting out of the classroom.

Tucking the stacks of papers under her arm, Hinata made her way to her locker to stow them away, Sasuke behind her.

"Thank goodness it's lunch hour," said Hinata.

Sasuke leaned on his locker. "It's not like we eat anything," he commented.

"That's not the point," Hinata said. "I'm just glad to be out of class even for an hour."

Hinata saw Sasuke roll his eyes as she felt a powerful aura.

"Is that Itachi?" she asked him, referring to the sensation of being someone's prey.

"Hai," Sasuke confirmed. "He's 'on the prowl' so to speak."

Sasuke's voice then took a drastic change. "Longing to conquer and maul a blonde fair maiden to make her his bride, bonded by blood."

Hinata outright laughed at her mate's antics.

Just then, Ino showed up, hugging Hinata tightly, to which the brunette squirmed with slight itching.

"You have no idea how much I missed you, Hina," Ino said cheerfully. She looked Sasuke's way. "Oh, you too."

Sasuke shrugged and nodded Hinata's way before leaving to go to the cafeteria, leaving the girls alone.

"You told me that this morning," Hinata said with a smile.

Ino grinned. "I know, but whatever!"

Hinata and Ino then walked the way Sasuke had gone along the green corridors when Hinata felt Itachi's presence was even closer.

It was soon known why his presence was so strong when she saw he was standing at the entrance of the cafeteria talking to Sasuke about something. Usually, Itachi was nowhere to be seen at lunch time unless

he wanted to talk to one of them.

As the two girls approached Sasuke and Itachi, the latter stopped talking and focused his attention on them.

Shifting her eyes to see Ino, Hinata saw the girl was lightly blushing.

"Oh Kami," Ino whispered. "Why does he have to be so gorgeous?"

Hinata giggled at what Ino had said and patted her on the back. "You poor thing."

Hinata knew Itachi must have heard what Ino had said, because his eyes briefly flickered red and his gaze seemed to scorch Hinata even though his eyes were not on her.

Ino was sure to have a very spicy relationship if she got with the experienced, passionate being that Itachi was and Hinata had to wonder if the trait ran in the family as Sasuke was very affectionate, with a tiny blush of her own.

"Hey," Hinata greeted when they got near enough. "Hi Itachi."

Both males responded, Itachi staring intensely at Hinata's best friend, who was blushing.

"And you are?" he asked.

Ino ducked her head bashfully. "I-I'm Ino. Hinata's best friend," said the blonde. Really, the girl was acting as though she'd taken over the past Hinata's habits.

Itachi reached his hand to Ino's which she accepted. The girl must have felt something because her entire face lit up a pretty shade of red.

"Nice to meet you, Ino," said Itachi. "I'm Itachi."

"Nice to meet you too, Itachi-senpai," said Ino.

Itachi seemed to reluctantly release Ino's hand and Hinata and Sasuke were catching all of this.

"You don't have to call me senpai, just my name is fine," Itachi told her.

He then turned to Sasuke. "See you later," Itachi said and then said his goodbyes to Hinata and Ino before leaving.

"So what did Itachi want?" Hinata asked Sasuke.

He shrugged. "Male stuff."

The three went to their regular table to find mostly everyone already there.

Hinata saw that her best friend looked as though she would faint from the encounter and smiled. Maybe Itachi would not have to work so hard to become closer to the girl as he thought.

o

Lunch was filled with questions and laughter.

Everyone clearly seemed to be very curious about the fact that both Sasuke and Hinata were out of school and came back at the same time. They believed it must have been planned somehow, to which Hinata and her mate denied through their teeth.

By the time it was all over, Hinata felt exhausted and was never so glad to be back in the classroom.

Just before she got to the next class, Hinata felt her phone vibrate and panicked, thinking it would start to ring. Luckily, it was on silent.

Hinata had only taken it to school because of the situation surrounding her at the moment; in case the police found something of interest or if something else happened.

Running quickly to the bathroom, Hinata took the phone out of her bra to see it had stopped but she dialed the number unknown to her, guessing it must have been the receptionist from the counselor or the police.

She was right when someone on the other line spoke.

"Ohayo, this is Yasu in connection with Hyuuga Hanabi," came the voice of the receptionist. "Am I speaking to Hyuuga Hinata?"

"Hai," Hinata replied.

"I'm calling to remind you of the appointment Hanabi-chan has with Yamashita-san today after school hours."

Hinata told the woman she had remembered and, after thanking her for calling, she hung up and made her way to class, hurrying as she went because she was a little late.

Walking through the door for Art class, Kurenai-sensei stopped what she was saying to look Hinata's way.

"You are late, Hinata," said Kurenai, looking at her watch. "You're already very far behind so please don't make it a habit."

The tall, beautiful woman then gave Hinata a couple sheets of paper, which the girl knew were her assignments for Kami-knows-how-long and shooed her to her seat.

Hinata gave a short bow of apology and went to her seat.

At least Hinata was able to understand some of what Kurenai was saying, even though she was on a new topic. She was able to grasp an idea of what was going on and even do the assignment for class after leafing through the papers she had been given.

This was why Hinata loved Art; it just came naturally to her.

Kurenai was actually very impressed with Hinata's work at the end, asking that Sai help her with catching up when it was possible.

Hinata was thrilled, as she would be able to spend time with Sai. She had not done so in a long time since they all paired off as couples. It was a great start to her trying to get back in touch with her close friends also.

Looking back at the short-haired brunette, Hinata saw Sai was pleased about the arrangement as well.

o

In no time, it was the last period and then the bell was ringing for the end of school.

Hinata walked to her locker with the others to pack away their stuff. Hinata was taking out her stacks of papers when Hanabi came up to her.

"Counseling right?" Hanabi asked her as she bit her nails, a new habit the girl had taken up. Hinata believed it was to help with the addiction.

To be honest, Hanabi looked a mess and it was amazing someone hadn't noticed or commented on it.

Maybe it was because of the drastic change her younger sister had taken while she was gone that other students probably saw it as some kind of grunge phase or something.

"Hai," said Hinata. "Neji is taking us."

Sasuke walked up to them just then, since his locker was next to Hinata's.

"How are you doing?" he asked Hanabi.

The younger girl shrugged. "I've been one hundred times better," she answered. "I feel like frigging crap right now."

"Hanabi!"

"Gomen nasai."

Hinata sighed and also apologized for Hanabi. She really needed to curb that habit of swearing and to someone older than her at that.

But Hinata had to say Hanabi _was_ doing great for someone off drugs for so long. She was an absolute wreck during the night and in the morning but she was fine now, just really dreary.

Sasuke was pulled away by Naruto, who wanted to get home but Neji was there soon afterward and so the three left, pilling themselves into the Porsche.

The drive there was mostly quiet as Hinata was going through the papers she had received. Her theory was the faster she got them out of the way, the faster she could go back to being a normal stressed out teenager and not a super stressed out teenager.

Hanabi was listening to music and gnawing at her fingers as it was calming her down and Neji just drove, asking them both questions when he thought of anything.

On arrival to the counselor, Hinata prepped Hanabi on behavior before they got out and then they were entering the building.

Hanabi was taken to Azumi immediately after she signed in.

Hinata and Neji waited outside with Neji doing some homework, while Hinata attempted some exercises.

It was good that Neji was there as he was better at math than Hinata was and so he was able to help her out.

He actually did a great job of it, but Hinata guessed it was because he'd learned topics and had gone through some of the exercises before.

The cousins were getting on quite well with the assignments and it was probably about two hours later that Hanabi came from the office.

"Azumi-san wants to speak to the both of you," said the girl.

Hinata and Neji put up their belongings neatly before following Hanabi to the office.

It was a homely little room, with a nice big couch and even a bed. It had the perfect setting and calming colors to ease the mind.

"Nice to see you again, Hinata-chan," Azumi said, as she stood and shook her hand. The older woman then extended her hand to Neji. "And you must be Neji as far as Hanabi-chan has told me."

"Hai, Azumi-san," said the male. "It's nice meeting you too."

Azumi gestured for the three to have a seat before she began.

"The reason why you have been asked to see me with Hanabi-chan is because I would like your views on the situation," said the woman. "At this point, it is very clear Hanabi-chan's mind is made up and so I believe she is ready to take the step of having the pregnancy terminated.

"She has told me the experience of not having any drugs and it is very clear she is on edge. I'm sure you have noticed she's taken up biting her nails to curb the craving but it won't be enough. As such, it would not surprise me if she suddenly goes into some shock as her body is now under the impression she is depriving it."

Hinata listened carefully and knew Neji was doing the same as Azumi continued.

"Rehab will be effective one week from now so please prepare for that, and the abortion will take place tomorrow morning at nine o'clock with Takahiro-san with your permission."

With that said, Azumi took a paper from the desk and gave it to Hinata. Looking at it, she saw it was a consent form.

Placing it within sight of Neji, they both read carefully and then signed the document.

The same paper was given to Hanabi, who was silent all this time, to sign and she did so with no hesitation.

"With that in order and out of the way, this session is over," Azumi informed them. "Sessions with me will continue this week and I will then sign over all documentation to the rehab center, where Hanabi will have a new counselor."

o

After that, they were seen to the door by Azumi-san and then they were on the way home.

Hinata realized Hanabi still not said anything and looking to Neji, they discreetly decided Hinata would try talking to the youngest Hyuuga.

"Are you okay, Hanabi?" she asked her younger sister.

"I'm fine," said Hanabi shortly.

Hinata noticed the sharp tone and realized Hanabi was probably just minutes from acting out from not having her 'blow.'

"When we get home I'll cook you up something yummy," Hinata told her sibling.

"I'm not hungry."

Hinata tried another approach. "Then we'll try to do something fun."

"I'm tired," Hanabi said irritably.

Hinata smiled sadly. "Would you like for us to stay with you again then and just talk?" Hinata offered.

There was a pause. "…Hai."

The rest of the drive was spent trying to liven up Hanabi by turning on the radio to some music Hinata knew the girl liked and it brightened the younger girl's mood, as well as hers and Neji's.

When they got home, Hinata decided to stick to the plan and pulled Hanabi and Neji into the kitchen to make dinner, asking the maids not to worry.

Her idea paid off better than expected and they all got lost into making something nice to eat… or as nice as they could hope for.

Hanabi burned her finger on the frying pan while stir-frying some vegetables and Neji added too much salt to the rice balls apparently. At least Hinata's chicken came out alright.

Overall, it was a success.

It was such a great feeling to see Hanabi smiling and to know her mind was on something other than her problems even if only for a short while.

Hinata laughed when Neji and Hanabi ate the food, grimacing as they did and was glad she could not taste it.

The mood really was great and helped get everyone's minds off the upcoming events, especially the abortion in the morning.

Both Hinata and Neji felt a little guilty for signing that paper but they knew and saw one of the weights lift from Hanabi's shoulders. The other was still there; however, being the addiction.

They had discussed it quietly as Hanabi had gone to have a bath and agreed it was for the best. They would just have to wait on the outcome of tomorrow.

Hinata briefly talked to Sasuke and filled him in on what had happened and shortly after, she did more homework in Neji's room.

Hanabi was there as well, watching TV and biting her nails. Hinata noticed the girl was slowly rocking back and forth as she did and was a little worried.

Being too tired to complete all of the work, Hinata set her papers down and headed for the bed. Neji was already there reading and Hanabi came to the bed also.

Neji set the book down and the three watched TV in bed until they were too tired to watch anymore and settled in for bed after hitting the power button on the remote control.

In the still of the night Hanabi spoke.

"I'm scared."

Hinata turned her face to her precious sister and Neji did the same, embracing her.

"What are you afraid of?" Hinata replied.

"What's gonna happen tomorrow," Hanabi Said again. "I'm scared something may go wrong."

Neji then shushed her. "Don't think of things that may go wrong," he told her softly. "You'll be okay."

"Are you having second thoughts about the abortion?" Hinata asked.

"Iie," Hanabi said quickly. "I'm just scared I might get hurt or something. Or that someone will find out about it."

"Nothing bad will happen. Takahiro-sensei is known to be very good, one of the best," Hinata assured Hanabi. "And everything that is going on is confidential. No one will ever know."

Hanabi seemed at ease with the words and seemed to drift to sleep as she chewed her nails.

Once again, Hanabi was tortured during the night, with Hinata having some nightmares of her own in answer to Hanabi's as Neji comforted them both.

* * *

**_ So I figured I would end the chapter here. I like the progression but I hope it isn't moving too slow for you guys. I've been told my other fic is moving too slow as they want some action between the pairings—after they explained what they were referring to— that's what they meant. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and I apologize for the lateness hehe. This was supposed to be up since last week but the new arrangement in my job really stressed me out. I wrote this on a day off which was yesterday and edited today. It could have been up earlier but I was trying to catch up on stuff, as always. The chapter is longer than the usual 1500. It's 4723 in MS word._**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_, or _Following the Sun_, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do‼_**


	55. Cold Feet

**_Hi there readers! I know I'm a couple days late—a week if you're counting— and I put it down to my subscriptions on youtube AND I've started to rewatch a Kdrama by the name of _Playful Kiss_, a must see, hehe! Anyway, I hope you guys are doing okay. I'm fine, but have been the victim of severe allergies just a few days ago. That's part of the reason why I'm updating a little late. I was just sneezing nonstop, my eyes were swollen, my nose was runny and all I wanted to do was fall asleep so I wouldn't feel it. I think I've told you that before though, in a previous update so I guess this is something continuous. Maybe hay fever or something. So, with that out of the way, I'll get to it._**

**_Excuse any errors and formatting issues and R&R‼!_**

* * *

**Chapter 55: Cold Feet**

**xXx**

Hinata and Neji were up before Hanabi the next day.

The youngest Hyuuga of the house was exhausted after such a fitful night and so was unable to move.

Hinata woke up first, despite having been tired herself and then Neji followed. After Hinata took her wrist and Neji's and had her bath, she went downstairs to prepare something for Neji and Hanabi to eat while Neji had his shower.

Hinata didn't bother to wear her uniform, as she was not sure if she would be able to go to school what with Hanabi. She had suggested Hanabi pack some clothes for the consent form informed she would have to stay overnight, depending on which method she was going to use.

As Hinata went about making breakfast, she could not help but think of what was going to happen in a couple hours. Her imouto was going to have an abortion. Even more, in a couple days, she would be going to rehab for treatment.

Neji came downstairs not too long afterwards and sat at the table.

"Hanabi is still sleeping," he said. "She had a pretty rough night but most likely she'll be up any minute now with morning sickness."

Hinata opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the retching sounds coming from the bathroom.

"I guess you have the timing down," said Hinata.

Hanabi came down after a half hour or so, looking quite pale and clammy.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked her sister.

Hanabi just nodded in reply as she too sat at the table and started to eat, only to jump up from the table, hand over her mouth to the nearest bathroom to throw up again.

Neji prodded at the breakfast. "Is there tomato in the omelet?" he asked Hinata.

"Hai," said Hinata. "Hanabi loves them almost as much as Sasuke."

Neji shook his head. "She can't handle the taste of it anymore," he said.

"What does she eat for breakfast then?" Hinata asked her cousin.

"Just some fruits lately," Neji replied. "Especially bananas, which we both know she hated before."

Hinata took the food and trashed it before making something else for the girl by the time she came out of the bathroom.

Hanabi wobbled into the kitchen and sat again. "Gomen," the girl said. "I can't eat tomatoes anymore; they make me throw up."

"That may be one of the symptoms of the pregnancy, I think," Hinata told her. "But I made you a fruit salad."

Hanabi immediately dug into the fruits, neglecting the grapes and slices of apple but obviously relishing everything else, especially the banana as Neji had said. She didn't eat all of it and so Hinata put it in the fridge.

* * *

Soon afterwards, it was time to head off to the doctor's office.

Hinata decided to take the risk and drive to the doctor's office, as she did not want Neji missing school.

Sasuke was out of the question as he was just as far behind as she was and she did not want anyone thinking they had a plan on being truant anymore than they already did.

Hinata could tell Hanabi was very anxious about the whole thing but did not say much about it as she knew Hanabi was one to not want to feel weak.

She allowed Hanabi to have her music as they drove to the doctor, to which the girl was very thankful for.

After pulling up in the car park, Hinata and Hanabi got out and made their way into the building.

Hinata could feel the dread radiating from her sister in waves and held her hand, catching her attention.

"You'll be fine," said Hinata with a small smile of comfort. "Whether you decide to go through with this or not, you know I'll be supporting you as well as Neji."

Hanabi gave a shaky smile of her own and looked ahead as they went up the stairs.

When they entered, Suzume immediately came to them. "Ohayo, Hinata and Hanabi-chan," the woman said. "You are right on time and Takahiro-san is ready for Hanabi-chan if she is ready also."

Hinata squeezed Hanabi's hand and let go as Hanabi gave her the music player. "I'll be fine," Hanabi said softly.

The girl seemed even more stressed than before but Hinata trusted she would be alright.

Hanabi and Suzume disappeared down the hallway as Hinata went to take a seat in the waiting room and soon after Suzume was seen bustling around.

Hinata took out her phone to send Sasuke a message also as she was not sure if she would be able to make it to school. It was not clear how long the procedure would take and so Hinata let him know.

Hanabi still was not sure which method she would take when Hinata had asked. There was the medical abortion, in which pills would be taken to induce a miscarriage and there was also vacuum aspiration, which would work as a suction technique to remove the fetus.

Hinata had given Hanabi the option of choosing which she would be more comfortable with. She trusted both Hanabi and Takahiro to make the right decision, as they knew what they were doing.

Having taking along her assignments and notes, Hinata settled in for getting some work done. She focused mainly on the English, as she would have that lesson in the evening after school.

Being quite good at the subject, Hinata was able to grasp everything she had read and even wrote an essay in the hour she had been in the waiting room so far.

* * *

Suddenly, there was a scream of Hinata's name from Takahiro's office and Hinata dropped everything to run to the door, barely catching Hanabi as she dashed out. The girl was wearing a robe that was barely hanging on her thin frame.

Hinata panicked, thinking something had gone wrong and Hanabi was hurt. Tears welled in her eyes as she took Hanabi's shoulder; Takahiro came through the door right after in his scrubs.

"Hanabi!" said Hinata urgently. "What's wrong?"

Hanabi shook her head, apparently not able to speak before stuttering incoherently and Hinata rounded on the doctor.

"What's happened to my sister, Takahiro-sensei?" Hinata demanded.

Takahiro quickly ushered them both into the room and shut the door. Hinata sat, pulling her sister to sit on her lap as she waited for an answer. The girl was crying bitterly, as she gasped for more air.

It seemed to take forever to Hinata until the man spoke.

"Hanabi-chan changed her mind at the very last minute," said Takahiro, watching Hanabi carefully. "She had decided go for the vacuum aspiration and was very calm about it until watching the process shown on the monitor, being uneasy. She then went into a form of shock when I was about to start."

Hinata could tell. Hanabi was currently going through a major panic attack and even as the doctor was talking, Hanabi was having a very difficult time breathing.

Takahiro got up and took Hanabi from Hinata.

Hanabi continued to choke on her sobs, her breathing extremely erratic as Takahiro carried her to the bed and sat her down.

Hinata got up and went to her sister as well and tried to put an arm around her to which Hanabi refused and pushed her away at the sudden contact. She tried a second time and was allowed.

"Hanabi-chan," Takahiro said calmly. He looked her in the eyes as he spoke, giving her some tissues. "No one is going to hurt you, okay? You're safe."

Hanabi shook her head again, her breath hitching as she struggled to speak.

"I-I ca… can't.."

Takahiro continued to try to calm Hanabi down, just by his gaze alone before speaking again. "Was the video disturbing to you?" he asked.

Hanabi nodded her head. "I d-don't…I can't!"

Hinata felt tears coming to her eyes but Takahiro placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hanabi-chan is just going through a panic attack," he said, then turned his attention to Hanabi. "It will pass in a couple minutes; just try to take some deep breaths."

Hanabi hiccupped as she tried to inhale without breaking down again, hiding her face with her palms from obvious embarrassment.

"How are you feeling now?" Takahiro asked.

"O-okay," Hanabi answered.

"Are you ready to talk now?" the doctor asked. "Both your sister and I are right here."

Hanabi slowly peeped through her fingers before she took them down to start chewing her nails.

"I can't have the a-abortion," Hanabi whispered through her teeth.

"Was it the video?" Takahiro inquired as he had before. "Was it too disturbing and graphic for you to handle?"

"H-Hai," said Hanabi shakily. "But it's the truth. T-that's what will happen to me and I didn't know it would feel pain when I did it. It's a baby and I'd be killing s-someone then. I've messed up too much and I don't want to add k-killing a baby to the list."

Takahiro punched a button and Suzume was there in an instant with a tray of two glasses of water. Hinata took one and Hanabi drank hers.

Takahiro waited until they were both completely calm before addressing Hinata, as Hanabi still sipped her water.

"From notes given by Azumi-san, Hanabi-chan was clearly quite determined to go through with termination of the pregnancy," said Takahiro. "Hanabi-chan was informed of the procedure very thoroughly and was still very sure about it but the video must have shaken her will.

"Then there is the fact that Hanabi-chan's addiction may be weighing very heavily on her choice and so she is not certain what she really wants. As such, it is suggested she go to rehab and make the decision there without any influence from those close to her."

"Hai, Takahiro-sensei," said Hinata. "I understand that but Hanabi needs her family."

"That may be true," said the doctor. "But at this point, she needs the proper treatment to continue."

Hinata started to get angry. "So why didn't you know this before now?" she demanded.

"Hanabi-chan was seen as stable enough," Takahiro said. "This behavior is normal as many pregnant women have second thoughts about going through an abortion at the last minute, especially girls Hanabi's age-"

"I-I want to go home," Hanabi interrupted.

Hinata looked at the doctor, silently pleading he just let them leave and he noticed it, scribbling on a notepad.

"I will send word to Azumi of what has happened here today and I will move the rehab up to Wednesday so please make the proper arrangements with your school and authorities as soon as possible and notify me. Hanabi-chan will stay home tomorrow and if she has any issues, please call me."

* * *

The drive home was a silent one for a while with Hanabi becoming teary a few times. Hinata held her hand on the way home, sidetracked a little on the fact that she was driving with one hand.

But Hinata had to know what was going on.

"Are you sure about keeping the baby?" Hinata asked softly so as to not startle Hanabi into another panic attack.

Hanabi nodded her head.

"Are you going to tell Konohamaru?"

Another nod.

"Are you going to tell Otou-san?"

"..Hai."

"You'll have to be pulled from school."

"…I know."

Hinata glanced Hanabi's way. "Neji and I will be with you all the way," she said.

When the two of them returned home, they found the police were there.

"Ohayo, I'm Takashi," said one of the policemen. "We were going to wait until you came home this evening but since you are here, we would like to ask Hanabi a couple questions."

Hinata waved him off. "Sumimasen, Takashi-san, demo Hanabi has just been to the doctor's office and he recommended her have full rest without disturbance." **_(Sumimasen-Formal way of apologizing)_**

She then showed him the note Takahiro had written for absence from school and the man approved.

"Very well," he said. "But we would like to speak to her as soon as-"

"It's okay."

Hinata looked at her sister. "You sure?" Hinata asked.

At Hanabi's indication that she was, Hinata lead the police inside to the kitchen, where there were no police searching present.

Hinata got the man a glass of water and they all sat down.

Takashi took out his notepad, pen poised to write. He asked Hanabi's name, age and the basics. He asked of parental care and of Hinata and Neji's guardianship while their father was away.

It was apparent the man was going easy on Hanabi due to the fact that it was quite plain to see she was not feeling her best. Hinata was very grateful.

The policeman then went on to ask about Hanabi's friends and Konohamaru, wanting full details on their relationship and information that might help the police. Hanabi stated she was uncomfortable with the personal questions and so Takashi stopped short.

"I think we have enough information," said Takashi. "It is very obvious Hanabi knows nothing about the person who supplied Konohamaru with the drugs as the boy must have had direct contact with the source, supplying other students. On another note, Hanabi is recommended to go to rehab and I have a few well known-"

"I'm going to rehab from Wednesday," said Hanabi. It seemed Hanabi just wanted to get to the point all day.

Takashi wrote quickly. "Thank you for your time, Hinata and Hanabi-chan," he said. "The search is to be completed today and there will be progress updates."

With that, the man got up and with a word of goodbye, he left, taking the others with him after about two hours.

X

Hinata sat with Hanabi in the kitchen, not moving from their position since the police left, just talking.

"My baby is going to grow up without a father," Hanabi had said at one point.

Hinata noticed the change from 'it' to 'baby' and thought a good start had been made already.

"I'm sure Konohamaru will be there for you when all of this settles down," said Hinata.

She went on to assured Hanabi there would be support no matter what and just then, Neji's car was heard pulling into the driveway.

Hinata let him know both she and Hanabi were in the kitchen when he entered the house and then further told him about what had happened and informed him of Hanabi's choice.

Neji took it in well adding his own placation.

Hanabi was soon too tired to do anything else and Hinata and Neji took her upstairs to his room, where they tucked her in, hoping she would sleep well.

"Who's going to tell him?" asked Neji, referring to Hinata's father as he went to his computer and turned it on.

"I think we all should," said Hinata. She was now going through some more English exercises. "I'll call him in the morning and ask to come home."

"Do you think he'll revert back to how he was when he hears about this?" Neji asked.

Hinata shrugged. "I pray he doesn't. He'd been so good to us on his visits that it scares me to imagine him going back to his abusive ways."

"We'll just have to not let it happen," said Neji, who sighed tiredly. "Is this what being a parent feels like?" he asked. "The anxious feeling, being so protective?"

Hinata smiled sadly. "Of course," she said. "I feel it too and I'm sure when Otou-san gets over the shock we'll all be fine."

Hinata knew she was more reassuring herself than Neji but she stuck to it.

"I'll stay home with Hanabi tomorrow since you've been out of school for so long," said Neji to which Hinata agreed.

There was a vibration and Hinata checked and saw it was a message from Sasuke.

**S: Is everything alright?**

Hinata quickly replied.

**H: I'm not sure. Hanabi backed out on the abortion and decided to keep the baby.**

**S: Did you want her to go through with it?**

**H: I wanted what she did. I'm just worried about how my father will take the news.**

**S: Ohh I c. yea, from what you told me, he was not that great of a father when he lived with you and now he might not be exactly ecstatic about having a grandchild so soon.**

**H: I know. Maybe I'm over thinking this, but I can just hope my father really has changed. He loves Hanabi the most but a something like this might make him mean again.**

**S: Srry, I gtg. Kakashi's back from the bathroom. Ttyl**

**H: kk**

Hinata forgot she and Sasuke were supposed to have after-school sessions starting from today and sighed.

Already, she was missing classes and it probably looked terrible after being out of school for so long as it was.

As much as she hated it, she would have to really make and effort and was thankful that Neji had offered to stay at home to watch over Hanabi so she would be able to go to school and catch up.

With new resolve, Hinata took up the exercises and started to complete some after reading through the instructions and suggestions listed for Biology.

Neji came over to her to help and they both worked quietly while Hanabi slept.

What with all that had happened for the day, Hinata did find it hard to concentrate properly. Her mind drifted to the events of what had happened earlier and Hanabi's new resolve to keep her baby.

Hinata couldn't help but wonder if she would have kept her own, had the situations she'd had with Sasuke the year before gone that way.

Hinata knew Sasuke would have been right there with her all the way if such a thing had happened but could not be so sure about Konohamaru, who seemed to be just a delinquent toying with Hanabi.

Hinata could only hope the younger boy would get help, step up, and further be there for Hanabi.

She was not bothered about the financial part of it all, knowing Konohamaru was very young and would not be able to sufficiently support Hanabi and their baby.

Money would never be an issue for Hanabi and Hinata knew that, unless their father somehow cut them off. She just wanted Hanabi to not feel like she had ruined her life nor did she want her little niece or nephew growing up without knowing their father.

"-ata?"

Hinata was shaken from her thoughts by Neji's voice and quickly apologized for not listening.

"I understand," said Neji. "Do you want to continue or rest?"

A bit of rest sounded like heaven to Hinata and she readily accepted the latter. There was so much to do that Hinata just wanted a little time to clear her head.

Neji said he would complete his own homework and stay online longer while Hinata went to have a shower.

She crawled into bed next to her sister, who was still sleeping with one hand to her mouth, the other on her flat stomach.

There was no telling how things were going to turn out when they woke up in the morning but for once in the past couple days, both Hinata and Hanabi had a full night of sleep.

* * *

**_And that is the end of the chapter. I made it longer to make up for the lateness and I hope you liked it. I honestly thought about letting Hanabi go through with the abortion because, whether we want to accept it or not, abortions happen in these circumstances. _**

**_As I've told readers, the Hanabi situation is to raise awareness on the use of drugs in school and teenage pregnancy and the difficulties faced going through it. In the end, I decided to let Hanabi keep her baby to carry it further to show how hard it can be and even more, the ability to be able to endure it. I have had two friends go through teenage pregnancy and even though I did not hear from them after they left school, I could just imagine what it must be like._**

**_Depending on the reviews; however, if you would still like Hanabi to go through with the abortion, that can be arranged._**

**_Also, you guys can follow me on twitter RisaPooh13. You can ask me questions and we can communicate all day! Hehe how cheesy ahem… but yes, you can follow me. I tweet everyday and you can let me know if you want updates on how my writing is going and stuff._**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_, or _Following the Sun_ please do. I would greatly appreciate it._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne‼_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do‼_**


	56. Visitor

**_Hey there readers! It's time for another chapter. I know this is late—as always—but I have a lot of work to do again, even working from at home, and it is taking up my time. I'm really sorry about keeping you waiting . I barely had enough time to get this in two sittings and I know there's not much going on but please bear with me. I had planned for my fics to be over since January and it's July, I get that many of you want to see how this will end as much as I do. I MUST finish before University for me starts so wish me luck guys. I made this a bit longer than my 1500 limit so I hope you enjoy reading; let's get started._**

**_Excuse any formatting issues or errors and R&R‼!_**

* * *

**Chapter 56: Visitor**

o

Hinata woke up to the sound of Hanabi throwing up in the nearby bathroom and looked towards the window to see the sun was about to rise.

It was not even daybreak and Hanabi was having morning sickness. Looking around her, she saw Neji was not in the room.

Hinata groaned as she got out of bed and went to the other bathroom to find out her cousin was in that one and so she went to her own to have a bath and freshen up.

It would be a long time until she would have to get ready for school and so Hinata decided she would get in some work in, as dreadful as it sounded.

After Hinata had her bath, she just threw on some shorts and went down to the kitchen to make breakfast for Neji and her sister.

She whipped up a fruit salad quickly for Hanabi and some toast with jam and tea for Neji; Hinata just took her wrist and bit her tongue as she put the food up for them on the table.

After that, Hinata went to Neji's bedroom to get her books and supplies to go back to her room and get some studying done since she had not been in her bedroom it seemed in forever.

Hinata went over what she had done the night before, as she planned to give it to Kakashi to make up for the fact that she'd been absent the day before.

Settling into some other work after that, Hinata then started on some subjects she would have for the day and History, as she would be having that after school.

There was a knock on her door what seemed to be a few minutes after that.

"It's time for school," said Neji.

Hinata looked up at her cousin and then at the nearby clock to see that, indeed, it was time for her to be going through the door.

Hinata jumped up at once and hurried to get on her uniform as Neji watched in amusement.

"I never thought you would be so focused on schoolwork that the time would pass you by," Neji commented.

"Me neither," Hinata replied honestly. "Where's Hanabi?"

"She's downstairs eating," said Neji. "Her morning sickness was especially bad this morning, lasted quite a while."

Neji regarded her. "You haven't called Oji-san," he said.

"Iie," Hinata replied. "I don't have it in me to call him yet. I get so scared that he's just going to pop up someday and see Hanabi pregnant if I don't call."

"Don't think about it right now," said Neji. "We can always wait until Hanabi completes her rehab and tell him we found out she was pregnant after she came back."

"But he'd want to know why we didn't say anything about her being on drugs," Hinata said. "What then?"

"We say we didn't want to bother him as we know he's so busy," Neji told her.

Hinata sighed tiredly as she finished getting ready and hauled up her books, stuffing them into her bag. Neji had gone to his room.

'I didn't even ask Sasuke if he could pick me up,' Hinata thought to herself as she went downstairs. 'I'll have to take the bus.'

Neji offered to take her but Hinata refused, not wanting him to be seen at school if he was not attending.

Hinata went into the kitchen to see Hanabi sitting at the table, picking at her breakfast.

"Not hungry?" Hinata asked her.

Hanabi shrugged. "I don't really have an appetite, and everything seems to want to make me puke my guts up."

Hinata sat down. "Well you have to eat to keep the baby healthy," said Hinata. "So at least try to keep something down long enough for him or her to get some."

Hanabi nodded.

Hinata stood up. "I'll see if one of the maids can pop by the supermarket and get some nutritious things for you."

"Arigatou."

Hinata left Hanabi at the table, feeling a little sad at her sister's depression. She yelled upstairs to let Neji know she was leaving and was out through the door and to the nearest bus stop.

* * *

There had been a lot of buzz going around the house at the news that had come to Karin in the form of an email.

Tayuya, Karin's older sister, was coming to Konoha. It was not a big deal to Sasuke but Karin was absolutely livid at the idea.

Karin and her sister had the similar tastes and mentality so the redhead was beyond nervous Tayuya would try to take Naruto from her on a trip to 'check up on her sister.'

Sasuke knew the girl on a very personal level and didn't think Tayuya would do that though. After all, Naruto and Karin were mates and it was extremely rare to have a vampire try to have someone else's mate as their own.

Not only that, but Tayuya was attracted to brunettes rather than blondes. Blondes were her tastes for humans, but she would be more interested in a potential mate that held her tastes.

Karin was just overreacting. Even if Tayuya tried to take Naruto away, Sasuke doubted Naruto would be so fickle again as to let her. Even Naruto himself tried to reassure the redhead there was no other person in the world he would be with.

Even more drama in the house was the fact that Itachi was still 'on the prowl' so to speak.

Yesterday, the entire school was sucked into his pining for Ino when he saw her talking to Chouji, her former boyfriend. The atmosphere turned so cold with jealousy and killer intent, it felt as though a storm was approaching. Even Sasuke was worried.

Itachi said he had no control over it but Sasuke hoped his brother would get with Ino quickly before he brought on a hurricane or something of the sort.

Sai and Kin were as closely knit as ever and Sasuke sometimes envied them for that, as he was never able to spend almost every minute with his own mate.

Speaking of which, he was going to see her soon, as he was now driving on his way to school.

After pulling up in the parking lot, Sasuke tried to ignore his brother's rising aura and made it into the school, down the corridors and into his classroom.

It was no surprise to see Hinata was not there yet, as she was rarely early but she arrived a little before the bell rang.

Ino hogged her up at once but Sasuke was having none of that and walked straight up to the two.

"Ohayo," he said to them both, then spoke to Ino. "Do you mind?"

Ino twirled a bit of her ponytail around a finger. "As a matter of fact, I do," she replied. "But it's ok, I'll talk her later."

With that, Ino turned away to Sakura, who had apparently made a nasty passing comment.

"How is everything at home with Hanabi?" Sasuke asked in a hushed voice. Before she could answer, he led Hinata to his desk and sat her on it to face him as he sat in his chair between her legs.

Hinata's face lit up in flames. "Sasuke!"

"Trust me, no one's watching us when Naruto and Karin have the spotlight. We're not doing anything," said Sasuke. "So I was asking how everything is going with you guys."

Hinata squirmed a little but answered. "Hanabi is kind of depressed, knowing the issues we'll have to go through now that she wants to keep the baby. We're not going to tell my father until she comes back from rehab which is starting tomorrow."

"I'd say you've got a lot on your plate," Sasuke said. "Would you like me to stay with you?"

Sasuke had been thinking about what Itachi had told him and agreed he needed to be with Hinata. He hoped she wouldn't see it as him trying to get into her panties or something, not that that would be turned down if she wanted.

"I would love that," said Hinata. "Demo… I'm not sure how Neji would take it."

Sasuke scoffed. "He has TenTen to worry about, doesn't he?"

"I'm not sure; he doesn't talk about her much," Hinata said.

"There's no keeping what's going on between them a secret," Sasuke told Hinata. "I get he's a private person—so am I—but why wouldn't he want to tell you about her? I thought you were supposed to be close?"

"He's probably just likes her as a friend or embarrassed."

"Embarrassed my ass," Sasuke said with a snort and then changed the subject. "Did you get some studying in yesterday, what with all that happened?"

"Hai, I did some work and an essay for Kakashi-sensei and did a bit of studying for History this afternoon after school," Hinata said. "Also did some Biology."

"I'm impressed," said Sasuke, and he really was.

The bell rang shortly after that and a long while after that, Kakashi came strolling through the door to take attendance.

oOo

The day was going very quickly and in no time, it was the end of school.

Sasuke went to his locker to put away his unneeded books and pick up the ones he would need when he saw Hinata and Ino chatting by Hinata's locker.

He greeted them both.

"You have to stay behind with Hinata, right?" Ino asked him to which he affirmed.

Before she could say anything else, Itachi's presence was felt and there his brother was. He seemed to have his radar on Ino.

Sasuke watched Ino and saw her face light up.

"Sasuke," said Itachi, getting his attention. "Do you have lessons this afternoon as well?"

Itachi knew full well Sasuke was supposed to have these classes after school until he caught up, but played along.

"Hai," he answered. "Did you need something?"

"Nothing in particular," Itachi replied. "Tayuya is arriving this afternoon so I thought I'd let you know. It seems she will be here sooner than thought."

"Who's Tayuya?" Hinata asked suddenly.

"She's Karin's older sister," Sasuke informed his mate.

"Karin has a sister?"

This time it was Ino who asked.

"Hai, she's visiting."

"Will she be coming to our school as well?" asked Ino.

"I don't think so. It's more of checking up on Karin more than anything," said Sasuke.

Just then, Anko was seen coming their way.

"I'm gonna go now, k?" said Ino as she glanced at her watch. "I've still got about ten minutes until the bus comes."

"Sasuke and Hinata I'm ready to start," said Anko, as she went into the classroom. "You have two minutes."

Sasuke glanced at Itachi waiting for him to do something, wanting to see where this was headed before he had to go inside and knew Hinata was having the same idea.

Itachi did not disappoint and immediately hopped into action.

"Where are you heading?" he asked the blonde.

"I'm not going home yet," said Ino. "I have to go into the city to help my mother get some stuff for our shop."

"What a coincidence," said Itachi. "I have some business to attend to in the city this evening as well."

"Really?" Ino squeaked unintentionally, then corrected herself more calmly to which Itachi smirked.

It was clear Ino could barely contain her excitement, as she looked Hinata's way. "I guess I have a ride into the city then," she said.

Hinata smiled knowingly. "Hai," Hinata said. "I'll talk to you later."

"I'll see you at home," Itachi said to Sasuke.

Sasuke watched as his brother and Ino walked away towards the entrance of the building, Ino skipping next to Itachi's long strides.

"I think that will go well," said Hinata cheerfully as they made their way into the classroom.

History with Anko was always entertaining, as the woman was very enthusiastic about any subject she taught, the other being economics.

Anko made boring charts and scrolls seem as though the founders were right there in the room; as though she herself was one of the ninjas.

When the lesson was over, Anko collected their work.

"You two were very attentive," she said. "I want you to write an essay on what we spoke about and that is to be handed in to me tomorrow during your lunch hour. There's more information if you need it in chapter seven."

"Hai, Anko-sensei."

Anko packed up her stuff and left Sasuke and Hinata in the classroom with a word of goodbye.

Sasuke turned to Hinata. "So what now?" he asked her.

"I have to get home and see how Hanabi is doing," Hinata said heavily.

Sasuke helped her get her books and folders together and took them to her locker for her.

"Would you like me to take you home or is Neji going to come for you?" asked Sasuke.

"Iie, I asked Neji not to pick me up," said Hinata. "I'd like if you could take me home. I caught the bus this morning."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow before remembering. " Ah, your car would definitely attract too much attention if you drove it here, and illegally at that."

Hinata nodded. "And no one gets in the driver's seat of Neji's Porsche," Hinata added with a laugh.

"Well you, Hina, can be in the driver seat of my car whenever you want."

oOo

Sasuke and Hinata hopped into his Mustang and they left the school's premises in the direction of Hinata's home.

"Tell me more about Karin's sister," said Hinata, after they were done discussing what they had been studying with Anko.

"Tayuya is pretty much like Karin," said Sasuke and then scratched his head. "Or is it the other way around?"

Hinata giggled. "Which one is it?" she asked.

"She worse, I think," said Sasuke truthfully. "She has a really nasty mouth almost to rival Hidan's, one of Itachi's friends, and he's awful."

"It can't be that bad," said Hinata.

Sasuke smirked. "Trust me, she's no cake," he assured her, as she was pulling onto her street. "I used to hang out with her a lot back home and we were really close, which is how I met Karin in the first place."

"I guess when I meet her, I'll see. And I can't believe you were able to be friends with a girl," said Hinata with a grin. Sasuke was glad her wasn't sensing any jealousy from his mate. "How's everyone taking her coming to Konoha?"

"No one has a problem with it, as Tayuya said she's just stopping by, but Karin's not happy," said Sasuke.

"Why not?" asked Hinata.

"Imagine someone with Karin's attitude having her replica show up," said Sasuke. "Karin is mostly afraid of what her sister will think of Naruto though."

"Tayuya is a picky sister?"

"Iie, she has the same taste reversed," said Sasuke. "Everyone has been telling Karin Tayuya's not going to mess with Naruto when there are so many brunettes in Konoha."

"Well I can understand why she may be insecure," said Hinata. "She practically stole Naruto from me so she's scared someone else can do the same if she was able to."

"That makes sense," Sasuke could see the logic in that as Hinata drove in front of her home.

Hinata gathered her books and got out of the car, not before kissing Sasuke soundly. "Have a safe trip home," she said. "Can you pick me up tomorrow, by the way?"

"Hai," said Sasuke. "No problem."

Sasuke climbed over the cubby into the driver's seat, turned around in the driveway and waved to Hinata as he drove away.

oOo

The ride home was a peaceful one and in no time, he was parking in the garage. He noted Itachi's car was not there yet and wondered how his afternoon with Ino was going.

Before Sasuke could open the front door, it was flung open and Sasuke faced the bandana-wearing redhead, also known as Tayuya.

"Hey, you little shit!" the girl greeted. "I've been waiting on your butt to get home!"

Sasuke blankly stared before pushing past the tomboy. "Whatever, Ginger."

"Is that the way to treat your best friend?" Tayuya yelled after him. "Why the hell didn't you visit me when you were turned?"

Sasuke sighed, knowing a long night was ahead. A smile tickled his lips as he heard Tayuya mutter as she followed him upstairs. He took back the statement of Tayuya being like Karin. She and Naruto were one in the same.

"You have no fucking manners, I swear."

They arrived in his room and the girl flopped on his bed.

"Where's everyone else?" asked Sasuke.

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Sai and Kin went out not too long ago and Karin and her mate are in their room doing the nasty after they greeted me," she said. "Not enough courtesy to be damn quiet about it either. Never knew Karin was such a little nymph but I can understand since Naruto is one _hot_ piece of ass!"

"How could Naruto's scrawny ass be hot?" asked Sasuke.

"It's a girl thing, you wouldn't get it," Tayuya said dismissively.

Sasuke left the girl to go have a shower and when he returned, it was to see her sitting cross-legged waiting for him.

"So!" Tayuya said eagerly. "We have some catching up to do. Tell me everything about your mate. I heard she's half Hitomi!"

Sasuke shook his head and made his way towards her.

* * *

**_And so this is the end of the chapter. I hope it wasn't long-winded or anything and that you enjoyed reading. I finished last night but was too tired to reread until tonight and now it's too late for me to get back to working now, but it was worth it to get a chapter out to you. I had other things to say but it slipped me hehe!_**

**_Ah! You can follow me on Twitter _RisaPooh13_._**

**_Also, you can vote on the new poll I put up._**

**_If you have not read _Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_, or _Following the Sun_ please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**

**_ do!_**


	57. Hollow

**_Hi there readers! It's time for another chapter. I know this is also late but I have great reasons and that is the fact that, for one, I was at camp. There was no wireless or anything so there was no way possible for me to update after I wrote and this is the result. Also, it was for church and so I didn't want anyone annoying me about writing about vampires and so I kinda put it off. Also, even though I carried the laptop there intending to write, I never got the chance to as the damn camp was too tiring and exhausting to think of anything other than getting back home. After I left, I needed a couple of days to get myself together— not going to work included— and then since I'm starting university in a couple days, I needed to go to get some stuff sorted out for it to confirm I'm going. That process was also hell, as they misspelled my name and stuff._**

**_Anyway, this is already super long but there will probably be more to write by the time I finish this so let's get to it. Also, there will be a time skip soon, if not in this chapter, but I hope it still flows. Gosh, I feel terrible that I keep breaking my promises_****_…_**

**_Excuse any errors or formatting issues and R&R‼!_**

* * *

**Chapter 57: Hollow**

**xXx**

Hinata was up and ready very early.

It was the morning Hanabi was going to rehab and Hinata wanted to make sure everything was in place. Neji was up also, helping Hanabi pack her clothes and other essentials.

Hanabi was a pure mess all morning. She hardly ate anything and threw up twice as much as she usually did. Her face was puffy from crying and her eyes were swollen. Hinata wished she could just hug away all the problems her sister was going through.

Hinata asked the cook to make breakfast for Neji and Hanabi, the latter picking at her cereal, and right after that, they were on their way to the rehab center as they were to arrive for eight and it was a while away.

Neji drove since Hinata was just as much of a nervous wreck as Hanabi was and since she had _finally_ called to take her driver's test, she did not want to jeopardize it by crashing into a tree while deep in thought.

The ride to the rehab center was a tense one.

Neji's knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he drove in autopilot it seemed.

Hanabi asked to pull over only to dry heave twice because she had thrown up what little breakfast she'd eaten before leaving the house. She was constantly chewing her nails.

As for Hinata, she was sure she was having some kind of stroke because a headache _did not_ feel like her head had been split in two by a hacksaw.

Pulling into the parking lot, the three just sat there staring at the foreboding, pale blue building.

"This is it," said Hanabi at last.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?"

It was Neji who'd asked.

Hanabi nodded tiredly. "I'm sick of being sick," she said. "I just want to get in, get better, and get out."

With that, the three got out of the car and made it to inside the large building. Walking the pathway was surprisingly peaceful.

There were benches situated outside where people of various ages were sitting alone or in groups playing chess or other calming games under the cool shade of large leafy trees.

Hinata glanced at Hanabi as they went and saw the nervousness rise. Holding the younger girl's hand, Hanabi's steps faltered before she held Neji's and they continued.

Up the stairs to the main office they went and straight to the receptionist at the front desk.

"Ohayo," said Hinata. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata and I believe we spoke on the phone this morning about my sister Hyuuga Hanabi coming here."

The woman greeted Hinata and the others, then proceeded to leaf through some files.

"Hai," she said. "Please hold one moment."

One phone call later, the receptionist turned her attention to Hinata once more. "Hanabi's counselor, Tamiko, will be here to great her shortly after she is in her room. Also, someone will be down to get Hanabi's belongings to her room."

"Arigatou," said Neji.

"Would you like to wait with Hanabi until she is settled in or will you be leaving?" the receptionist asked.

Both Neji and Hinata looked at Hanabi to see what she preferred.

"I guess you can stay until my stuff is in my room," said Hanabi offhandedly. Hinata knew the girl was just putting up her wall but allowed her to.

They were asked to have a seat in the waiting room until someone came down to get Hanabi's things.

Neji went with the two men in uniform and came back with everything. Hinata and Hanabi then followed them along the long corridors and went up three floors on the elevator.

"Here we are," said one of the assistants. "Room three sixty."

The white door was opened to reveal a modest light cyan colored room. The furniture was very simple; there was a window that showed part of the center's grounds and the nearby city.

It was a lot smaller than any of the rooms at home, except for maybe the broom cupboard and Hinata looked at Hanabi to see her reaction.

The girl shrugged her shoulders.

Hanabi was definitely not pleased about it but Hinata was glad she didn't play the spoiled card.

The men left the three to themselves with a word that the counselor would be with them shortly.

Neji moved to unpack Hanabi's things and the sisters decided to help.

"It's a very small room, isn't it?"asked Hinata.

"Che, it's a good thing I'm not freaking claustrophobic," said Hanabi, then she sighed. "But I deserve it so I'll suck it up and be out of here in no time."

Hinata smiled and saw Neji was doing the same.

Not twenty minutes after that, there was a knock at the opened door and a blonde woman peeked inside.

"Ohayo, may I come in?"

Neji gave the okay and the woman walked in, arm outstretched to shake each of their hands.

"My name is Tamiko and I'll be Hanabi's counselor for the time she is here," said the blonde.

Neji and Hinata also introduced themselves before all of them sat in the thinly cushioned couch at the tiny coffee table.

Tamiko took the bag off her shoulder and took out an envelope. "I have Hanabi's information here so I'm going to go through it before you leave," she said.

Tamiko then proceeded to indeed go through every detail which ended in Hanabi's sitting in the very room she was in. Everything was accurate and on point.

"Now that we've established all of the information here is correct, let me just say to you that Hanabi's case is one that is very delicate," said Tamiko. "I will make sure with everything I possess she will come back to you as she was before."

"Arigatou," said Neji. "We hope we can hold you to those words."

Hinata hoped so as well. This rehab center was considered one of the best in Konoha.

Hinata and Neji were then made aware of the schedule set out for Hanabi but both were disappointed there was to be no visiting during Hanabi's rehab.

When they were done, Tamiko led them to the exit of the building and shook both their hands. Hanabi was a few steps away.

"It was nice meeting you both," said Tamiko. "I will see you at the end of Hanabi's stay when you pick her up." She looked Hanabi's way. "You can say your goodbyes now, Hanabi. I'll be in your room waiting."

That said, Tamiko left, leaving the three alone.

Hinata bit her lip, not knowing what to say and it was Neji who started.

"Well we must be going now," he said. "We can't hold up your healing process, can we?"

Hanabi nodded silently.

"I know we can't visit but we'll call you whenever we can and you do the same," said Hinata.

Another nod.

"We're going to miss you," Hinata said finally.

That seemed to cause something to snap in the younger girl and immediately she closed the distance and hugged Hinata tightly, Hinata not missing the tears.

Hinata hugged her sister just as tightly and Neji came to them soon afterwards.

Hanabi sniffed softly, trying not to let it be known she was crying.

"I'm so sorry!" she said almost brokenly. "I'm going to miss you."

"We're going to miss you too, Imouto," Hinata said affectionately. "We'll be counting the days until you're home again."

Hanabi backed away, quickly wiping her eyes and cheeks.

"Take care of my little niece or nephew," Hinata told her.

Rubbing her stomach absently, Hanabi gave the faintest hint of a smile. "I will."

Hanabi then gave one last wave to them as she walked away.

* * *

That was three months ago and Hinata could still remember the look on her sister's face as she bravely walked away.

It clearly had been tearing her apart to look so strong for both her and Neji but she'd managed it.

Hanabi was scheduled to be home today, which was now a month longer than she was expected to be in rehab.

The younger girl had called and informed them one morning a couple weeks in and it nearly gave Hinata and Neji a heart attack to hear of the news.

Hanabi had been crying but Hinata had not asked about it or let on that she knew. Hinata herself had been crying silently to the point where Neji had to take the phone away.

Whatever it was that had caused Hanabi to stay longer had to be serious. Maybe her addiction had been worse than Hinata thought it was or the situation of being pregnant was getting to her.

Whatever it was it was over now, as she was deemed ready to return home.

Hinata and Neji made sure every part of the house was cleaned and searched for any stash around the house and further got rid of all prescribed drugs and everything else that might cause a relapse as they had been instructed to do.

Neji had been gone a while now, as he was going to pick up Hanabi while Hinata set about making a nice meal to welcome the youngest Hyuuga home.

Hinata was suddenly brought from her thoughts when her phone went off. Looking at the ID, she saw it was Sasuke. He'd been a pillar of support for Hinata, apart from Neji while Hanabi was in rehab.

Hinata had not told Ino anything about Hanabi's condition yet and knew the blonde would be pissed but thought it was best as few people know about it as possible.

Speaking of Ino, she was as happy as could be now that she and Itachi were spending more time together.

Hinata knew Itachi wanted to take it slow to make sure Ino was truly going to be his mate, from what Sasuke had said, but Hinata knew Ino was more than ready.

The two had taken up eating lunch at school together and going on a few dates over the past months after Itachi had taken Ino into the city and Ino was sure to tell Hinata every detail of every moment she and Itachi spent together, to Hinata's amusement.

"Moshi moshi?" said Hinata.

_"Hey, how are you doing?"_ came Sasuke's voice.

"I can't wait to see Hanabi," said Hinata. "And I miss you."

Hinata had not seen Sasuke for the week apart from school and it was now Saturday. School had taken up all of their time but at least they were catching up really well.

_"I miss you more,"_ said Sasuke, melting Hinata's heart before the sound of Tayuya's voice was heard in the background. _"Go the hell away! I'm talking to Hinata. Don't give me that face!"_

Hinata leaned on the counter as she laughed. Tayuya stayed a little longer than anyone thought she would. Both Hinata and Sasuke were quite curious why and happened to find out the redhead was more than interested in her very own cousin, Neji.

The aforementioned was not too pleased to learn of Tayuya's crush on him, since he was not fond of her bold personality and swearing. He did everything to avoid her, as she visited Hinata regularly and stressed on his and TenTen's relationship.

That did nothing to sway the girl though and Hinata could tell Neji was slowly coming around.

Believe it or not, Hinata actually liked how the two looked together and she didn't see TenTen and Neji getting very far anyway.

Hinata had always gotten the feeling Neji was not into TenTen the way she was into him so she didn't feel guilty at all for cheering Sasuke's best friend on.

_"So I thought you would have gone for Hanabi,?"_ said Sasuke.

"Iie, Neji is on his way for her," Hinata told him. "They should be back soon and I'm cooking up a big feast for her."

_"Ok, I'll call you later then so you can tell me how the welcome was."_

After their goodbyes, Hinata set about finishing the meal as quickly as possible and did it just minutes before she heard Neji's car pull into the driveway.

Hinata's heart beat fast as she thought of how Hanabi would look after not seeing her for so long. Last time it had been two months when she'd gone to the Hitomi Realm and Hanabi had taken a turn for the worse. This time, she was hopefully better.

The door opened and footsteps were heard as both Hanabi and Neji came in and the footsteps became louder as they came closer.

"She's in the kitchen," Hinata heard Neji say.

Finally, Hanabi showed herself by peeking into the kitchen before barreling in.

"Aneko!"

Hinata caught her sister and hugged her fiercely. "I'm so glad you're back!"

Hinata pushed the younger girl and held her by the shoulders.

Hanabi's weight was back up, almost to where it had been previously. Her cheeks were rosy with happiness, even though her eyes held a hint of sadness.

"You look great," Hinata told her.

Hanabi nodded. "I _feel_ great," she said.

After that, the three sat down to eat, excluding Hinata on the eating part.

Hanabi told Hinata and Neji everything she could about rehab and Hinata had to say they did a wonderful job; she would have to send a thank you letter.

The dinner went well and everyone decided to sleep in Neji's room.

All settled in, the three continued to talk when Hinata suddenly remembered.

"How's the baby doing?" she asked into the dark.

There was dead silence in the room before Hanabi answered.

"…I lost the baby," Hanabi whispered, rubbing her stomach slowly. "The stress was too much."

Neji and Hinata both turned to Hanabi.

"Are you ok?" asked Neji, concern lacing his words thickly. "Why didn't you tell us something?"

"I'm okay with it now, I guess," said Hanabi. "I just know now I really wasn't meant to have a child yet and I didn't want you to panic."

"Is that why you had to stay longer than planned?" asked Hinata.

"Hai."

There was another bout of silence.

"I felt…hollow after everything happened," Hanabi said.

Hinata reached to pull the younger girl closer. "Gomen, I wasn't there for you."

"It's okay," said Hanabi. "I really needed that alone time to get myself together, ya know?"

The words were barely out of Hanabi's mouth before a yawn was stifled.

"You're tired," stated Neji softly. He pulled the covers up to their chins. "Let's get some sleep and talk more in the morning."

"Okay," Hanabi agreed easily.

It took Hinata a long time to fall asleep after that though.

Hanabi had lost the baby without even meaning to and she wasn't even there to help her through it.

It was clear Hanabi was better now and Hinata just hoped it would stay that way.

At least everything was looking up. Hanabi was better, school was going well, Ino and Itachi were on their way to being in a relationship and she and Sasuke were very much still in love.

Sighing, Hinata snuggled closer to her sister and tried to get some sleep, as she knew the topic of Hanabi's miscarriage would be brought up again in the morning.

* * *

**_And that is the end of the chapter, guys! I really hope it was worth the wait and didn't feel rushed or anything. I've been super busy and lots of stuff has been going on as I said at the top but bear with me, I know I always seem to fall short of keeping my promises for one reason or another._**

**_Remember you can follow me on Twitter _RisaPooh13. _I'd like to hear from you guys._**

**_If you have not read_** **Hina hime_, _A Happy Ending_, or _Following the Sun_, please do._**

**_Until next update…_**

**_Ja ne!_**

**_Please review, I love it when you do!_**


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